Beating England in a friendly is better than automatic qualification for the Euro

Tonight's clash between Scotland and England is the oldest fixture in international football, marking the 150th anniversary of their first encounter. Throughout their long and intertwined history, the gap in performance between the two sides has fluctuated. The outcome is in the balance as they prepare to face each other at Hampden Park for this historic match.

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In their most recent meeting during Euro 2020, the match ended in a 0-0 draw at Wembley, marking the start of England's journey to the tournament final. Gareth Southgate's team is currently on track to qualify for the next edition of the tournament despite a recent draw with Ukraine.

For Steve Clarke's Scotland, their impeccable record of five wins from five games has put them within reach of a second consecutive European Championships. Many fans are eager to see if they can secure their first victory over England in this century in the upcoming match. After all, winning against England has a special meaning for the people of Scotland. Scottish 30-year-old midfielder Callum McGregor faced an intriguing hypothetical question. He was asked to choose between two options: a draw in Oslo to secure Scotland's place in the Germany Euro 2024 tournament or a victory over their arch-rivals England in a friendly. While this may seem a challenging choice, McGregor didn't hesitate for even a moment.

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McGregor has faith in his team to go out and secure a place in the next European Championship without anyone's help - so he would grab a victory over England with both hands.

"That's an easy one – us beating England. Because then we can just win the next game, and we will qualify anyway. It doesn't matter when you qualify, you have to get enough points. If that happens tomorrow night then great. But I would much rather win the game that I am playing in, especially when it is such a big fixture. We then have three more games to qualify after that and we will deal with that when it comes."

It's been 38 years since Scotland last defeated England on home soil, and in fairness, they've only faced them five times in such circumstances since their 1985 victory. McGregor has no personal memories of Scotland's most recent win in this fixture, which happened in November 1999 at Wembley when he was just six. Therefore, he didn't grow up with the intense rivalry that once existed between the two teams. However, he recognizes that sociopolitical dimensions are at play as well as on-pitch competition when Scotland and England face each other. For the Celtic star, a victory over England would be a significant achievement in his career.

Scotland's manager Steve Clarke anticipates a "competitive friendly if you can have such a thing" at Hampden Park. The match is expected to be intense.

"In my lifetime, England have moved a bit in front of us. We are trying to close the gap on them, and we'll find out on Tuesday how much we've closed that gap. The more you play against the top sides, the better you become," said the former Scotland right-back."

In the days leading up to the game, the two captains, Andy Robertson and Harry Kane, visited the West of Scotland Cricket Club, where the first-ever meeting between the old enemies was held on 30 November 1872. They remembered the tradition of football's oldest international fixture. Scotland has recorded 41 victories, while England has emerged victorious 48 times. Additionally, there have been 26 draws, including the last two encounters between the two teams.

England boss Gareth Southgate wants his players to rise to the occasion and represent the nation with pride in what will surely be a fiery atmosphere in Glasgow.

"We see it as a really good test of us as a team. You're playing a high-level opponent in a really intimidating atmosphere and they're the nights that have been important in our growing process. It's a challenge that we've got to head towards and relish. We have huge ambition as a team but also have a lot of work to do."