England v Scotland: Everything you need to know about The World Cup Qualifiers
Having been named the Young Player of the Year for the second season in a row, will Dele Alli’s talent shine through and get England to the World Cup?
On Saturday 10th June, England and Scotland will face each other at Hampden Park in a World Cup Qualifier match. Kicking off at 5pm, both teams will be hoping to win but could England beat their opposition to the post? After all, it was announced at the end of April that midfielder Dele Alli, had won Young Player of the Year for a second season in a row – and we’re sure fans, the club and the 21-year old alike, will be praying his abilities live up to expectations in one of the biggest matches of the year!
Born and raised in Milton Keynes, Dele has been playing football since the age of 11. In February 2015, the talented sportsman signed for Tottenham Hotspur and in his first full campaign at White Hart Lane, he was voted the PFA Young Player of the Year. The following January, he was ranked 8th in the Gazzetta dello Sport lists of the 50 best U20 footballers and in October 2016, he was ranked as the best U21 talent in world football by FourFourTwo. Having played for the England U17, U18 and U19, the April born lad made his senior debut in 2015 and was selected for UEFA Euro 2016.
Known for his talent across the world and after a fantastic season at his North London club, it’s no surprise that he beat the likes of his teammate Harry Kane and was voted the Professional Footballers’ Association Young Player of the Year prize for the second season running. What’s more, we’re sure this won’t be the last of Dele’s awards!
Commenting on his win, he said: “I’m extremely proud. It’s a great honour for me – obviously the second year in a row – but I’ve still got a lot to do, I’ve got to keep working hard. I’ve got to keep improving. The big thing for me, after last season, is I wanted to put my chances away more. I got a lot of chances last season that I wasn’t putting away.”
England and Scotland have football rivalry that has existed for years and have played each other more than any other nation, with 113 official matches. Fans of England will be pleased to here that they have the better record overall in the fixture, with 48 wins to Scotland. It’s this success that they will be hoping to continue on 10th June. The two teams were drawn together for 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification in the UEFA group F and previously met in November 2016, where England won 3-0.
The teams and fans will head to Glasgow on 10th June and we wish Dele and his teammates the best of luck!