Steve Clarke once got into trouble for losing his younger brother on a trip to see Scotland play England at Wembley.
The Scotland manager hopes to gain a lot more from the latest in the series of the world’s oldest international fixture.
The two teams meet at Hampden on Tuesday to mark the 150th anniversary of the first international – a goalless draw at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in Partick.
Clarke’s side go into the game on a high having won 11 qualifying matches in a row. Friday’s 3-0 victory in Cyprus made it five wins from five in the Euro 2024 qualifiers and kept open the possibility of Scotland qualifying on Tuesday.
But Clarke will put aside thoughts of Germany next summer as Scotland host a side who will provide a stern test of their recent progress, as well as sparking memories of previous meetings.
When asked for his own, Clarke referenced a famous Wembley win in 1977 and his own more difficult experience two years later.
Clarke said: “Gordon McQueen, header, the big man sadly no longer with us. I remember that one, he jumped so high, an incredible, incredible goal.
“I remember as a young man, the year Scotland fans got banned from going to Wembley, I remember being there. My sister and her husband lived in London at that time and he was in the Met Police so he managed to get a couple of tickets for us.
“I remember somewhere between the stadium and getting back to my sister’s house, I lost my younger brother Michael and my sister gave me an absolute hell of a time.
“But he turned up eventually. He jumped in somebody’s car and got a lift back, because the tubes were off, the buses were off, you had to walk. So he managed to get a lift off some random geezer and made his way back.
“I’d have been 16 at the time so Michael would have been 12, so I can understand now why my sister was so upset.”
Clarke stressed that the game means a lot to English football fans as well as Scots.
“They like to beat us,” he said. “Don’t make any mistake about that, don’t think it’s more important to Scotland than it is to England. Having lived in England for quite a long time, I understand it means a lot to them as well.
“The memories are great. I think we became world champions when we won in ’67, didn’t we? All those memories, the 9-3 game, maybe not such a good memory. There’s loads of memories and hopefully we can give them a few more.”
Clarke’s side held England to a goalless draw at Wembley in the European Championship finals in 2021 and he hopes Tuesday’s game will help his side prepare for some challenging competitive matches.
He said: “Certainly in my lifetime England have probably moved a little bit further in front. We are trying to close the gap on them and we will find out how much we have closed the gap.
“For us, it’s just about trying to continue to improve. I speak about it all the time, game to game. Obviously we played well in Cyprus, it was a comfortable evening and now we see what we can do against a team that’s nominally a pot-one team, always in the later stages of major tournaments.
“That’s the benchmark we want to judge ourselves against and we will find out how close we are.
“I’ve got some things I want to see on the pitch, testing ourselves against top opposition, which we are going to come across more often in the next 12-18 months.
“We play this game and then we go over for a very competitive game against Spain, and then we play France in a friendly. And then next year, after we have hopefully played at Euro 2024, we go into a Nations League group against another three of the top European sides.
“This is where we are as a team and this is where you have to challenge yourself and get better. I believe the more you play against the top sides the better you become. You might suffer a little bit at times but if you suffer in the right way, you can only improve.”
Scotland will qualify for Euro 2024 with three games to spare if Norway and Georgia draw with each other in Oslo at the same time as the Auld Enemy encounter but Clarke will not be seeking updates.
“I think the crowd might keep me up to date,” he said. “I won’t be monitoring it, I will be watching the game. That’s my job, not to worry about what happens elsewhere.”
Al-Ittihad 0-5 Al-Ettifaq: Ekambi scores hat-trick in five-star display
Karl Toko Ekambi netted a hat-trick as Al-Ettifaq got back to winning ways in style with a 5-0 thrashing of Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
He scored twice in four minutes at the end of the first half to send the visitors into the break 4-0 up before getting his third just 10 minutes after the break.
Seko Fofana had already given Steven Gerrard’s side the lead five minutes into the contest, while Moussa Dembele doubled their advantage from the penalty spot.
Al-Ittihad had the chances, but they could not find the back of the net, as they stayed fifth, but are now just six points above Al-Ettifaq.
Data Debrief: Clinical finishers
Al-Ettifaq had five shots on target against Al-Ittihad, scoring with all of them while creating an xG of 3.62.
With his hat-trick against Al-Ittihad, Ekambi has now scored 11 goals for the season, netting more than once for the first time since joining the club.
Al-Akhdoud 2-3 Al-Nassr: Brozovic stunner delays Al-Hilal coronation
Marcelo Brozovic scored twice – including a fine half-volley in second-half stoppage time – as Al-Nassr beat Al-Akhdoud 3-2 to delay Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League title coronation on Thursday.
Former Inter midfielder Brozovic fired in a seventh-minute opener from outside the area before Cristiano Ronaldo tapped into an empty net to double the visitors' lead.
Sadio Mane struck the woodwork early in the second half and Al-Nassr relinquished control of the game from there, with goals from Hassan Al Habib and Saviour Godwin making it 2-2.
However, Brozovic blasted a bouncing ball home following a goalmouth scramble in the first of seven minutes of stoppage time to hand Al-Nassr a fifth straight win and keep them within nine points of Al-Hilal, with three games still to play.
They have only delayed the inevitable though as the leaders – who have only dropped four points all season – need just one more point to secure their crown ahead of facing Al-Hazm on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Brozovic upstages Ronaldo
While it's usually Ronaldo writing the headlines for Al-Nassr, he was upstaged by Brozovic on Thursday as the Croatian found the net with both of his shots, also leading all players on the pitch for final-third passes (19) and completing 90.1 per cent of his passes overall (81/95).
Al Ahli 1-2 Al Hilal: Malcom saves league leaders' winning streak
Malcom’s stunning solo goal finished Al Hilal’s second-half comeback to earn a 2-1 win over Al Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Monday.
The forward started his run from inside his own half before slotting in the winner, after teeing up Aleksandr Mitrovic for the equaliser just after the interval.
Feras Al Brikan had given Al Ahli the lead in the 30th minute, but the hosts could not hold onto it against the league leaders.
Al Hilal continue their unbeaten league campaign to a 30th match, moving 12 points clear at the top of the table, while Al Ahli remain in third, now 22 points off the AFC Champions League spot.
Data Debrief
Malcom was one of Al Hilal's most influential players; as well as playing a hand in both goals, he had the joint-most shots (five), and the joint-most shots on target (two), and created two chances for his team.
Al Ahli also struggled to cope with Mitrovic's threat, as the Serbian created an xG of 0.61 from his five shots, having 11 touches in the opposition box.
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