5 less-heralded men who shone for England against Scotland
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England and Scotland – the battle of Auld Enemies – takes place for the 114th time on Saturday 10 June.
Gareth Southgate’s men are looking to continue their push towards World Cup 2018 with victory…while Gordon Strachan’s side must battle to keep their dream of Brazil alive.
So it seemed a good time for the Ladbrokes News team to have a look down memory lane and salute the less-famous faces who have given the Three Lions glory in this fixture.
John Goodall [Caps: 14, Goals: 12 / Era: 1888-98]
A man of many talents, the England and Derby County ace whose career straddled the 19th and 20th century was also a key part of the Derbyshire cricket team. But it was Scotland’s football team who were most often hit for six by the powerful forward.
A constant thorn in their side, the forward found the net in four of the pair’s Home Championships meetings, including a brace in the 4-1 rout of the hosts in 1892’s meeting in Glasgow.
Played football until the age of 51, including a stint with French club RC Roubaix. A true pioneer.
Dennis Wilshaw [Caps: 12, Goals: 10 / Era: 1953-56]
Scoring for your country against their oldest rivals is a proud moment for any footballer. Doing it four times in one game? Now that’s almost unheard of…
Unless you’re Wilshaw. Part of the legendary Wolverhampton Wanderers side of the mid-1950s, he helped England record a then-record biggest win against Scotland, netting four in a 7-2 mauling in front of a jubilant crowd of 96,000 in North-West London – circa 1955.
Having slotted home a scrappy opener within 60 seconds, he reappeared in the 70th minute with an inch-perfect header, before adding two more before the close of play. Outstanding.
Eddie Hopkinson [Caps: 14, Goals: 0 / Era: 1957-59]
For 100 years, from 1884 to 1984, the Home Championships pitted England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland against one another. It was the Three Lions who came out on top most often, and in the late 1950s, that was largely down to this man.
He became the first England keeper to chalk up consecutive clean sheets against the Scots, thanks to his displays in the ’58 and ’59 tournaments respectively. Played 14 times for the senior international side, as well as in Bolton Wanderers’ 1958 FA Cup Final triumph.
Allan Clarke [Caps: 19, Goals: 10 / Era: 1970-75]
It’s fair to say the Scotland v England centenary match of 1973 had more pride and anticipation at stake than your standard friendly game. And having seen their side lose 1-0 at home to Alf Ramsey’s men nine months before, the Tartan Army were hoping for revenge.
But England destroyed the hosts at a snowy Hampden Park with a 5-0 rout, and Leeds United forward Clarke was at the heart of it. Involved in the build-up for their opener, he then slotted home the second and capped off the game on 71 minutes, netting England’s fifth with a lovely solo goal.
Finished his international tenure in 1975, with 10 goals from 19 games. Impressive stuff. Shame, then, that he’s not better-known outside of Elland Road.
Rickie Lambert [Caps: 11, Goals: 3 / Era: 2013-14]
Having spent the majority of his career in the lower leagues, it was quite the achievement for the then-Southampton striker to make his debut at the age of 31.
But the in-form Lambert certainly wasn’t there to just enjoy the occasion. With the scores locked at 2-2, he headed home with unstoppable force to give England the lead…with his first touch, less than three minutes after coming onto the pitch.
While he did go on and enjoy 10 more caps for his country in a 15-month spell, he hasn’t featured for the Three Lions since. With that in mind, he’ll go down as one of the more unlikely forwards to have netted the winner in this fixture.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
