England fans couldn’t get away from the stadium quickly enough. Scotland’s fans stayed to sing
The difference at the end was how the two sets of supporters left the stadium. England couldn’t get away quick enough, while Scotland stayed to sing.
The pandemic may have changed much about football, but the rivalry in this, the oldest international fixture in world football, remains undimmed. It was first played in 1872 and just like then, this latest clash ended 0-0.
And how the Scots sang! Around the stadium for hours before kick-off, England supporters had belted out chorus after chorus of “Scotland get battered everywhere they go”.
But at the final whistle, it was the Tartan Army rejoicing by sarcastically singing the same song.
Crowds of supporters gathered in Leicester Square in central London after the scoreless draw. Red flares were set off as fans, many wearing kilts and draped in Scotland flags sang and cheered in the popular tourist spot.
Police were out in Leicester Square as fans gathered there. Pic: Rene Wolter
Scotland fans celebrated the goalless draw that earned them a point in the tournament. Pic: Rene Wolter
The best chances of the match had fallen to Scotland, but they failed to convert them. They now know that to progress in this tournament they need to beat Croatia on Tuesday night. After this performance, they’ll be filled with belief that they can.
England now know that they simply must beat the Czech Republic to top the group, a draw won’t be enough. And after this fruitless 90 minutes on their home turf, the pressure is very much on Gareth Southgate’s team.
If this game was anything to go by, Tuesday promises to be a nervy, adrenaline-packed night for both England and Scotland. England fans will hope their team find some creative spark from somewhere, anywhere.
England fans were in despair as they watched a lacklustre performance by Southgate’s side
Scotland fans travelled down to London for the match. Pic: Rene Wolter
Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate accepted any criticism for England’s performance but urged fans to stick with players after boos greeted the final whistle.
However, some England fans were still able to look at the positive.
Mark Cumberworth, 58, and from Essex, said after the match: “I’m absolutely soaked but it’s been good fun.”
On the result, he said: “I’m disappointed, it’s almost like we’ve settled for a draw, which isn’t the worst result in the world.
“Scotland have played well. England have no chance (of winning the Euros) playing like this.”
England fans were anguished as Southgate’s men missed chances during the tie
Scotland fans celebrated the result despite their side failing to find the back of the net
One Scotland fan said to me outside Wembley stadium after the game: “Brilliant, fantastic. Masterclass, an absolute masterclass from (the manager) Steve Clarke.”
Another Scotland supporter said: “I’m happy we’ve got a point, it rolls on to Tuesday night and then or the first time in a lifetime we’re going to qualify for a major championship.”
A third Scot said: “We were the better team and deserved the win. It was a good point though. a point gives us a chance to get through, if we win on Tuesday we will go through.”
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Scotland fans celebrate draw with England
England’s Jack Grealish, left, and John Stones, right, were left disappointed by the result
Malcolm Gillespie, from Falkirk but living in London, said the draw was an “amazing” result for Scotland and praised the setup at the central London designated key worker area.
The 41-year-old, who attended with his son Santiago, eight, said: “I’m happy but I definitely think we could have edged a win. They’ve played really well.
“It’s been fantastic, a really nice atmosphere.
“I spoke to some English fans who were really friendly. We’ve loved every minute of it.”
On the weather, he said: “It’s OK, we came prepared, we’re Scottish.”
Rishi Sunak will try to convince the public he is the person to “fundamentally change the country” and fix Westminster’s “broken system” – despite the fact his party has been in government for 13 years.
In his speech to the Tory Party conference, the prime minister will present himself as a reformer who is prepared to take difficult decisions, unlike opponents, who take “the easy decision, not the right one”.
Mr Sunak will tell the conference hall that politics “doesn’t work the way it should” and that his Labour opponent, Sir Keir Starmer, is “betting on voters’ apathy.”
The speech will round off what has been a chaotic four days at the party’s annual conference in Manchester – an event that has been overshadowed by the announcement that the northern leg of HS2 will not go ahead as originally envisioned.
Instead, services will run between Birmingham and Manchester but they will not be high speed and they will use the existing West Coast Mainline track.
The development prompted Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to accuse the government of treating people in the north as “second-class citizens”.
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He warned the government: “To pull that plug here in Manchester would show complete contempt to the city region and to the north of England as a whole.”
The Tory mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, also warned it would be “an incredible political gaffe” allowing opponents to accuse Mr Sunak of having decided to “shaft the north”.
In his speech, Mr Sunak will rail against “30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one – 30 years of vested interests standing in the way of change”.
He will reflect on his first year in Number 10 and acknowledge a “feeling that Westminster is a broken system”.
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No high speed link north of Birmingham
“It isn’t anger, it is an exhaustion with politics,” he will say.
“In particular, politicians saying things, and then nothing ever changing.
“And you know what? People are right. Politics doesn’t work the way it should.”
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Sunak: ‘No one wants an election’
And he will say: “Politicians spent more time campaigning for change than actually delivering it.
“Our mission is to fundamentally change our country.”
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As well as the HS2 announcement, Mr Sunak has also been undermined by his predecessor Liz Truss, who drew big conference crowds as she demanded immediate tax cuts to “make Britain grow again”.
Mr Sunak has instead compared himself to the late Baroness Thatcher, who tackled inflation before cutting taxes during her premiership between 1979 and 1990.
While Mr Sunak has repeatedly sought to dodge questions over HS2, he did say on Tuesday that the costs of the project had gone “far beyond” what had been predicted, and the sums involved were “enormous”.
The HS2 scheme was given a budget of £55.7bn in 2015 but costs have ballooned, with an estimate of up to £98bn – in 2019 prices – in 2020.
HS2 will start at Euston rather than Old Oak Common – but between Birmingham and Manchester it will not be high speed, Sky News understands.
The rail line will stop in Manchester, but from Birmingham it will switch to use existing West Coast Mainline track.
It will therefore not be high speed after Birmingham – effectively confirming days of speculation that the northern leg of the controversial project has been shelved.
Alongside the doubt over Manchester, there have also been question marks over Euston station and whether the line would terminate there as originally planned.
There had been rumours that it could stop at Old Oak Common instead, but Sky News understands the rail line will stop at Euston in a move that could be designed to placate critics.
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The development, broken on the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge programme, follows repeated attempts by Rishi Sunak and other members of the Cabinet to bat away questions regarding the future of the northern leg of the project.
The government initially tried to downplay the original reports, saying they were “incorrect” and that no “final decisions” had been made regarding the northern leg, known as phase two.
But despite their attempts, questions over HS2 have dominated Mr Sunak’s first party conference as leader and prime minister.
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The northern leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester is to be scrapped, Sky News understands.
Speaking at event near the conference venue, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham immediately hit out at the plans, saying: “If media reports are to be believed tonight, HS2 will leave central London, it will go to the Home Counties and the Chilterns underground, and it will get to Birmingham and then it will go onto traditional tracks.”
He said 40 businesses had written to prime minister tonight to urge him not to pull the plug.
“If you think about that for a moment, you know that will be a permanent statement for people in the north of England that they are second class citizens when it comes to transport infrastructure,” he added.
“It beggars belief in some ways that they are going to do this, they are going to pull the plug on that infrastructure that would pave the way for that new east-west line across the north, promised in not one, not two, but three Conservative manifestos.
“But to pull that plug here in Manchester would show complete contempt to the city region and to the north of England as a whole.”
Mr Burnham told the audience: “We say to them tonight: it isn’t too late from our point of view, you could invite us in.
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Osborne: ‘Tragedy to shelve HS2’
“Do not pull the plug on this city while you are in this city.
“If you do do those things, people here will never forget.”
The first indications that the leg to Manchester could be scrapped came after it was reported last month ministers were considering shelving the northern phase because of concerns about spiralling costs and severe delays.
According to The Independent, a cost estimate revealed that the government has already spent £2.3bn on stage two of the railway from Birmingham to Manchester, but that ditching the northern phase could save up to £34bn.
The reports immediately drew criticism from across the political divide, including from former Conservative prime ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May.
Speaking on the Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge, Science and Technology Secretary Michell Donelan said the latest reports were “still speculation”.
“I know, having worked around the cabinet table with the prime minister, that he is somebody who is very thorough when it comes to the detail,” she said.
“So I’m going to give him the time and wait and see what he says tomorrow.”
Read more:
What’s next for transport in the north after HS2 cut?
The HS2 revelation could not be more disruptive for Rishi Sunak
Asked why the government was not confirming what is happening on HS2, Ms Donelan said ministers wanted to “get it right” on the project.
“If I was the prime minister, I’d be doing exactly what he’s doing,” she said.
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