Scotland 1-3 England: Rating Robertson and co. as Clarke’s side fail to impress vs the Auld Enemy
It was not Scotland’s night as Jude Bellingham ran the show for England in their 3-1 victory at Hampden Park, in what some people decided to call a “friendly”.
Andy Robertson had an absolute stinker for one of the goals and Steve Clarke will be disappointed with the overall performance, with no player shining from an individual point of view…
You can read the England ratings here.
Angus Gunn
Dealt really well with a difficult looped pass from Declan Rice as he tried to set the tone with an emphatic punch. Was helpless for all three goals but will naturally be disappointed he could not stop Harry Kane from scoring the third.
Pulled off a massive save with Eberechi Eze running through one one-on-one at 2-1, which was during Scotland’s best spell. Got down well to save with his foot from a Jude Bellingham shot minutes later.
Ryan Porteous
Won his first one-on-one battle with Marcus Rashford but didn’t know where the Manchester United winger was for the first goal, giving him far too much space within eight yards of goal while attempting to play a cheeky offside trap, failing miserably.
Jack Hendry
Hendry was the latest to get into it with Bellingham (who absolutely loves it, by the way), getting booked for a scuffle with the Real Madrid star. Except for his goal, Kane was quiet on the night and as the central defender in the back five, Hendry gets a bit of praise for that.
Kieran Tierney
The first Robertson/Tierney overlap resulted in a transition which England won a corner from. The Real Sociedad left-back couldn’t land any of his key passes or crosses in the first half and overall had an evening to forget.
Tierney tried to close down Bellingham for the third goal, leaving a huge space in the box for Kane to expertly slot the ball past Gunn.
Booked for trying to take Bukayo Saka’s shirt off. Ooh, Arsenal friends.
Aaron Hickey
Got an early nutmeg on Bellingham but Jude got the last laugh by putting him into a spin cycle in the build-up for England’s second. Had a decent game against Rashford and only lost his second Scotland game on the night.
Andy Robertson
The Scotland captain was winning the battle with Kyle Walker early doors, keeping up with him and catching him out with a high press. But my oh my, what a shambles for England’s second goal, scored by the man of the night, Bellingham.
He had a complete brain fart in his own box, clearly wanting to play out but had nobody there, meaning he hesitantly laid it off for Bellingham from close range, giving the England talisman no choice but to score.
Robertson did find himself on the right wing to assist another England player for a goal, this time in his team’s favour. Thank you, Harry Maguire.
Billy Gilmour
Billy G would have wanted to run the show in midfield like he did at Wembley two years ago, but he couldn’t get a handle on the game, even against an unsharp Kalvin Phillips.
Callum McGregor
Let Phil Foden dance around the 18-yard line for the opening goal and was nearby to watch Ryan Christie get spun by Bellingham for the third. Had the ball ticking over well in the midfield when Scotland had some sustained possesion.
Scott McTominay
Confident in possession as always but could not get into the match. It is difficult against the big boys, after all. It’s all fun and games scoring against little countries like Cyprus and Spain, buddy.
John McGinn
Turned into a spectator for the opening goal after Foden slalomed by him with the ball.
McGinn is always positive and forward-thinking on the ball but was getting nothing from Che Adams and then Lyndon Dykes.
He also had Scotland’s first shot, blasting it straight into Adams and then missed a great chance from a sublime Robertson cross, with the ball hitting his shoulder instead of his head.
Che Adams
A very isolated player who didn’t do anything to influence the Scotland team going forward. It wasn’t his fault but how England knocked the ball around in the first 15 minutes of the second half was not a good sign.
Subs
Lyndon Dykes (for Gilmour, 60)
Surprise, surprise, Dykes was very isolated but Scotland had their best spell of the game after he came on.
Ryan Christie (for Adams, 60)
He annoyed us before touching the ball because Steve Clarke’s double change was a striker and a midfielder coming on for a striker and a midfielder, but Christie technically replaced Adams, and Dykes technically replaced Christie. New pet peeve unlocked.
The Bournemouth midfielder gave Scotland a bit of a spark off the bench but was spun far too easily as Bellingham easily got by him to assist Kane.
Stuart Armstrong (for Tierney, 82)
Couldn’t get into it with the game all but over when he came on.
Lewis Ferguson (for McGinn, 82)
Was nice to have a run out, which is all it was.
Ryan Jack (for McGregor, 89)
Not sure he touched the ball, to be honest.
Nathan Patterson (for Hickey, 89)
Poor fella came through for Rangers in the James Tavernier era and now has Hickey to battle with for Scotland.