IF nothing else, this evening’s World Cup qualifier should at least disprove the notion that England matches do not matter anymore.

International football might be on the wane, and England’s performances against Malta and Slovenia last month hardly represented a brave new dawn in the face of yet another disastrous showing at a major tournament, but pit the national side against Scotland in any context and interest is sure to rise.

Scotland’s stock has sunk so low that even with just three games of the current round of World Cup qualifiers gone, this game, and next June’s return fixture at Hampden Park, already look like representing the high water mark of Gordon Strachan’s side’s interest in the 2018 tournament in Russia.

Having failed to beat either Lithuania or Slovakia in their last two matches, Scotland face an uphill battle even to make the play-offs as they attempt to qualify for their first major finals since 1998.

Ranked at number 57 in the world, one behind Montenegro but one ahead of Mali, these are dark days for the Scottish national side. Celtic might be making a decent fist of trying to be competitive in the Champions League, but Strachan had to bring 31-year-old Scott Brown out of an 18-month international retirement ahead of tonight’s game just to ensure his midfield was not embarrassed at Wembley.

Aside from recalling Brown, the main pre-match talking point relating to Strachan’s squad selection was the late call-up of Blackburn defender Charlie Mulgrew. And they say the England manager is short of options because of a lack of domestic players in the Premier League.

In terms of the make-up of the respective squads, Scotland shouldn’t be capable of coming close to matching England. But the same was true in 1999 when Don Hutchison’s winner gave England the jitters as they scrambled into Euro 2000, and in 1977 when goals from Gordon McQueen and Kenny Dalglish preceded the dismantling of the Wembley goalposts.

Even in August 2013, when England were supposed to cruise to victory in a Wembley friendly, Scotland twice claimed the lead before eventually succumbing to a 3-2 defeat.

This is derby football, played out on the international stage, and the unpredictability that engenders means tonight’s game is both a huge opportunity and a monumental risk to Gareth Southgate as he attempts to secure the England manager’s job on a permanent basis.

Beating Malta and drawing with Slovenia wasn’t brilliant, but it was an acceptable return from Southgate’s first two matches. Throw in a win over Scotland and a competitive performance in next week’s friendly with Spain, and you have the makings of a successful job interview.

Get things wrong tonight though, and that probably means a listless draw as well as a defeat, and Southgate will find plenty of people queuing up to cite his limitations rather than the statesmanlike qualities he has displayed since taking over from Sam Allardyce on an interim basis.

These 90 minutes are the most important of Southgate’s managerial career so far, and it is imperative he displays a sense of boldness and passion that was not always apparent during his time at Middlesbrough.

Southgate’s spell at the Riverside marked the start of his managerial journey, and his lack of previous experience prior to replacing Steve McClaren on Teesside means it is unfair to draw too many conclusions from the mistakes that eventually led to his dismissal in the wake of Boro’s relegation from the top-flight.

However, the impression of Southgate as ‘too nice’ to succeed in management has stuck, and there were times during his Boro tenure when he was undoubtedly too passive in terms of energising his squad and reacting to changes in the game.

He has to show he can be more dynamic on the touchline as an England boss, and while it is far too simplistic to suggest that the national team’s ills can be solved by a bit of rabble-rousing and a few Churchillian speeches, tonight will undoubtedly be an occasion when England’s players will struggle if they are not sufficiently fired up.

There will come a time where a more studious approach is required, and a lack of tactical acumen has hastened the downfall of a succession of England managers in a major tournament setting. Against Scotland, though, it is imperative to fight fire with fire, and Southgate will have to set the right tone and ensure his players are not caught cold by what is sure to be an impassioned opening burst from their opponents. Come through that, and England’s superior technical ability should come to the fore.

Let’s be brutally honest about it, provided England can turn this into a test of footballing talent, they should win. Harry Kane might have questions to answer after his lacklustre showing in France, but he is a far superior striker to either Leigh Griffiths, Chris Martin or former Sunderland forward Steven Fletcher.

Should Jack Wilshere be restored to England’s starting line-up? It’s debatable. But you’d surely rather have him than Darren Fletcher or James McArthur. Gary Cahill alongside John Stones? The Chelsea centre-half has his faults, but he’d always be ahead of Newcastle reserve Grant Hanley or Ipswich’s Christophe Berra.

Southgate’s task is to make this evening’s game as routine as it possibly can be, and while England tend to find a way of making even the most simplistic of tasks tortuously difficult, this should be a night when the home fans leave Wembley with a smile on their face.

In the longer term, beating Scotland will mean very little. England did the double over Wales in qualifying for Euro 2012, yet were still wretched once they got to Poland and Ukraine. For quite a while now, they have been masters at negotiating the qualifying process, only to immediately revert to type once the pressure starts to increase at a finals.

For one night only, though, all of that can be shelved. Tonight’s game isn’t about establishing a template for the future or laying out a blueprint for the way Southgate wants his England team to play.

It is about beating the team that has always meant more to England than any other. Plenty has changed since the sides first met at The Oval in 1870, but the joy of watching England beat Scotland endures. Secure that result this evening, and Southgate will have achieved all that can realistically be asked of him.


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CHAMP OF THE WEEK

ANDY MURRAY

After a remarkable run of victories in the last couple of months, Murray finally overtook Novak Djokovic to move to the top of the world rankings when he reached the final of the Paris Masters. The Scot deserves to be recognised as one of Britain’s all-time sporting greats.

CHUMP OF THE WEEK

WAYNE BENNETT

The England rugby league coach has been rightly criticised for his abrupt post-match interview in the wake of his side’s scrappy win over Scotland. Bennett gave one or two-word answers to a number of questions from his BBC interviewer, and came across as rude and arrogant.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

JOE ROOT vs INDIA

Root has rapidly become the talisman of the England Test team, and he was at it again on Wednesday, scoring a superb 124 on the opening day of the first Test against India. Root now boasts 11 Test centuries, and his performances are likely to be crucial to England’s prospects in the rest of the tour.

CHARITY BET OF THE WEEK

It was a bit of a non-event last weekend as Carole’s Destrier was a late non-runner at Wincanton. There’s some cracking jumps racing at Cheltenham tomorrow – follow @Scottwilsonecho on Twitter for the charity selection. Running total: +£11.75