What Souness and McCoist said after Scotland v England - Liverpool & Rangers greats give views

Graeme Souness and Ally McCoist have delivered sobering assessments of Scotland’s 3-1 home defeat against England.

The oldest rivals in the international game met over 150 years on from their first ever meeting at Hampden Park on Tuesday night as England continued to hold the upper hand over the Tartan Army.

The visitors took the lead just after the half-hour mark when Phil Foden diverted a cross beyond Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn before Jude Bellingham punished an error from Andy Robertson to double his side’s lead just three minutes later.

An own goal from England substitute Harry Maguire gave Scotland some hope of mounting an unexpected comeback midway through the second half - but those hopes were dashed when Bellingham’s neat turn and pass allowed Harry Kane to end any doubt over the result with nine minutes remaining.

Former Scotland star Souness was left disappointed Steve Clarke’s men did not get the ‘passionate’ home crowd involved during what was a surprisingly low-key performance - and the Liverpool legend admitted there was ‘an enormous gap’ between the two countries.

He told Channel Four: “If nothing else you got to go into someone, take a card, get the crowd involved.

“This is a passionate football crowd and we gave them nothing to shout about tonight. I accept England were fabulous and they’re a fabulous football team but I think from Scotland’s point of view, we couldn’t really get they didn’t really show the required aggression.

“It was a friendly but it’s a Scotland v England game and when I see people, in this game, picking each other off the ground...it shouldn’t happen in this game, sorry. Take nothing away from England, they dominated, and I know there was a period where they got into their armchair for a time, but there was always another gear and I think it was a sobering night for Scotland because, when you look at it, Scotland have been on a magnificent run.

“But when push comes to shove, there is an enormous gap between where Scotland are and where England are right now. England now look like a proper team and I still think they can improve on that.”

Former Scotland striker McCoist described the challenge of facing England as ‘a step too far’ for the Tartan Army - but insisted Clarke’s side should ‘not be too downhearted’ as they look to put the finishing touches to a successful bid to qualify for the Euro 2024 Finals next month.

“Scotland have just got to go away and lick their wounds,” explained the Rangers legend.

“They’ll not be too downhearted because, as mentioned, the European qualifiers have been going really well and this has just been a step too far tonight.”