England and Scotland battled out a 0-0 draw at a rain-soaked Wembley in their eagerly anticipated Euro 2020 group game.
England’s John Stones hit the post in the first half and Scotland had a shot cleared off the line as the visitors earned a deserved first point in the tournament
The result means England still need at least a point from their last game against the Czech Republic on Tuesday to qualify for the last 16 while Scotland still harbour hopes of progressing.
Image: Scotland’s John McGinn (front) and England’s Luke Shaw battle for the ball during the UEFA Euro 2020 Group D match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture date: Friday June 18, 2021.
England changed both their full-backs before their battle against Scotland, with manager Gareth Southgate putting in Luke Shaw and Reece James to replace Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker – the latter missing out on the squad altogether.
A mix of booing and cheering could be heard at the start of the game as both sets of players took a knee ahead of kick-off.
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Having initially said they would not take the knee, the visitors changed their minds and – despite both sets of supporters booing their rivals’ national anthems – the reaction to the anti-racism gesture was the most positive of recent games, with cheers drowning out barely audible booing.
England came close to a goal in the 11th minute of the Euro 2020match when John Stones headed the ball against the post and again shortly after when Mason Mount came close following a mistake by Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay.
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Scotland’s Kieran Tierney shot 25 minutes into the match from around 25-yards but it flew wide of the goal, leaving England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford untested.
Scotland’s first big moment of the night came when they nearly scored on the half-hour mark after Kieran Tierney overlapped Andy Robertson and sent in a deep cross.
Fellow teammate Stephen O’Donnell caught it on the volley but Jordan Pickford made a strong save to claw it out.
Image: England’s Raheem Sterling (left) and Scotland’s Billy Gilmour battle for the ball during the UEFA Euro 2020 Group D match at Wembley Stadium, London. Picture date: Friday June 18, 2021.
By half-time, both teams had failed to score, with away fans sounding far happier in the stands as the whistle blew for the interval.
The teams set off to an intense start of the second half, with Mason Mount getting England’s first on-target shot, hitting the ball towards the near post but Scotland’s goalkeeper David Marshall managed to keep it out.
Stephen O’Donnell curled a delightful cross into the area which nearly reaches Lyndon Dykes but Tyrone Mings leaps to make an important headed clearance.
England’s Phil Foden was replaced by Jack Grealish shortly after the second half began, who made an immediate impact by winning a corner on his first time on the ball.
A possible penalty got England fans excited in the 79th minute after Sterling fell to the floor after a challenge by Scotland’s defender Robertson, but the referee was not interested and did not feel the need to call for VAR.
Frank Skinner broke down in tears live on his radio show as he told listeners that his former co-host Gareth Richards is fighting for his life after a crash.
The comedian struggled for words as he revealed that his friend was in a “very big road accident” this week and was fighting for his life.
Mr Richards is believed to have been involved in a serious collision on the M25 near Heathrow Airport on 27 March.
The crash between a lorry and two cars happened on the motorway between Junctions 14 and 15, Surrey Live reported.
A man was cut free from his vehicle by firefighters before being treated by the London Ambulance Service for head and chest injuries. The Met Police previously said he was in a “life-threatening” condition.
During the closing moments of his show on Absolute Radio on Saturday, Mr Skinner recalled how Mr Richards had co-hosted with him and Emily Dean when the show first started out.
Breaking down in tears, he continued: “And Gareth was in a very big road accident this week and… it’s not looking great for Gareth.
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“He’s in hospital and he’s fighting but it’s not looking great and I didn’t want to do this show – we didn’t want to do this show without mentioning him…”
He added: “He’s a fantastic bloke and I dunno if any of you do pray, if you do give one for Gareth this week.”
Detective Inspector Richard Pickering said: “We are in the very early stages of this investigation, and although we have made an arrest, I would urge the public not to speculate on the circumstances of the woman’s death, which is being treated as unexplained at this time.
“There is currently a scene-watch in place at the location and will be in place for some time while our investigation continues.
“Although the death is being treated as unexplained, we do not believe there to be any danger to the local community, and we are conducting a full and thorough investigation to ascertain the full circumstances of this tragic incident.”
Passengers have told of their ordeal after being stranded for hours at the Port of Dover as delays triggered a “critical incident”.
One woman told Sky News she had been waiting on a bus for “12 hours already”, while concerned parents reported on Twitter that their children had been stranded for longer than that, delaying the start of their school trips.
The port said coach processing times inside the terminal are “improving” and are now between one to hours, with one hour waits for cars.
In a statement, it blamed “lengthy French border processes” and the “sheer volume” of traffic on the first day of the school Easter holidays.
Port chief executive Doug Bannister told Sky News that although plans for the holiday period were in place months ago it had 15% more coaches than anticipated and bad weather on Friday caused further delays.
He said that with only half the number of coaches booked in for Sunday, he hopes the backlog will clear “overnight or into tomorrow morning”.
Rosie, a woman travelling on a coach with her family, said they were “left overnight” with “no idea how long we’ll be here”.
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Image: Lorry queues near Dover on Saturday morning
“We’ve been waiting for 12 hours already and it’ll be at least another two or three before we get on the ferry,” she told Sky News on Saturday morning.
“It’s very frustrating. I’m an environmental campaigner, I forced my family to get on this bus instead of flying.
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“It’s supposed to be an easy overnight trip, but it’s absolute carnage and there’s no excuse for it at all.”
Up to 40 coaches stranded in parks overnight
Mr Bannister said between 20 and 40 coaches were rediverted to local coach parks overnight.
“We started calling them through in the early hours of the morning as soon as there was space,” he said.
Simon Lyons, who is taking his son’s football team to Amsterdam, has been stuck in the coach queue at Dover for “a couple of hours”.
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‘There is a lack of French border staff’
He told Sky News the group of teenagers are 48th in the queue to be checked, but there are currently no ferries departing due to the build up of traffic.
“There’s a real lack of French border staff,” he said.
“We thought coach and ferry was the way to go, but the situation on the ground is not good.
“Speaking to the staff here and they say it’s entirely down to what happened with Brexit. Each individual passport needs to be individually stamped and that’s why it’s taking so long.”
One person posted on Twitter: “My children have been sat on their school coach overnight and are still awaiting news from P&O on when they can move from the buffer zone!”
While another wrote: “My daughter has been in a queue since midnight. Still no idea when the coach will be allowed to board.”
Asked whether the delays were the result of Brexit, Mr Bannister added: “It does make processing more challenging.”
Port staff ‘deeply frustrated’
The port – which declared the critical incident – said in a statement: “The Port of Dover is deeply frustrated by last night’s and this morning’s situation and particularly so on behalf of all the ferry operators’ coach passengers who have had to endure such a long wait at the port.
“Whilst freight and car traffic was processed steadily regardless of the additional challenging weather conditions and high seasonal volumes, coach traffic suffered significant delays due to lengthy French border processes and sheer volume.”
The port added that “additional coach bookings taken by ferry operators for Easter has impacted operations for the port”.
P&O Ferries said that after a two or three-hour wait, coach passengers will be “on the next crossing to Calais… as soon as you are through passport control”.
It added that it is providing refreshments to coach passengers who have been stuck at the cruise terminal for hours and also trying to get food and drink to people in the buffer zone.
The company blamed “the time it is taking to process each vehicle at French border controls” for the delays.
DFDS Seaways apologised for waits of “up to 120 minutes” for coaches and cars.
It said it is “operating a cross channel shuttle service” so “all passengers can be shipped on the first available departure upon arrival at check in”.
The company added in a tweet that traffic is “flowing freely” at Dover but “car traffic is very busy”.