Scotland to play England in 150th anniversary football match

Scotland will host England at Glasgow’s Hampden Park next year as part of celebrations to mark 150 years of Scottish football, it was announced on Wednesday.

The sides will meet on September 12, 2023 — an event that will commemorate their first encounter at Hamilton Crescent in the same city in November 1872, recognised by world governing body FIFA as the inaugural international match.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke, whose team failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, starting this month, is relishing a rematch on home soil.

“This fixture is enshrined in world football’s history — the first-ever international football match — and I will be proud to lead our team out at Hampden as part of the 150th anniversary celebrations of our national game,” he said.

The game at Hampden will be the 116th meeting between the sides, the last of which was during the Euro 2020 finals at Wembley last year. That match finished in a 0-0 draw, the same result as in the first encounter.

England boss Gareth Southgate, making final preparations for the World Cup, said any meeting with Scotland was “special”.

“Of course, ourselves and Scotland are the oldest of rivals and passions are sure to be high at Hampden, but this milestone is much bigger than our two nations as it’s also an opportunity to celebrate 150 years of international football,” he added.

England have confirmed they will play their Euro 2024 qualifier against North Macedonia on June 19 at Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium.