England vs Scotland football rivalry: Head to head record, results between Tartan Army and Three Lions

Scotland vs England is the oldest international football fixture in history with the rivalry as strong as ever between the two nations.

England sealed a 3-1 friendly win over the 'Auld Enemy' at Hampden Park, in the 2023 edition of the derby, in a game which marked the 150th anniversary of their first ever meeting — a match at the West of Scotland Cricket Club in 1872, with 4,000 fans in attendance.

Since then, the two teams credited as the creators of association football have been bona fide rivals on and off the pitch, with Scotland often in England's shadow especially in more recent days.

The Sporting News details the history of the rivalry, and who has the edge in the head-to-head record between international football's two oldest foes.

MORE: Can Scotland win their Euro 2024 qualifying group after strong start?

England vs Scotland football rivalry

Geographical proximity, and the general rivalry between England and Scotland in historical and societal terms, is the primary reason why the football teams are also old foes.

But the pair are also rivals because of that 1872 match, which is considered the first (and therefore oldest) international match of all time.

There was also debate, around that time in the late 19th century when football became professionalised, as to which nation truly 'invented' the sport, with the rules set out by the FA in England in 1863 but many Scottish teams credited with the invention of things like passing, formations and aspects of the game that are still used today. The FA received many 'challenges' to its rules by newspapers and clubs from Scotland.

The 'Auld Enemy' are perhaps not as fierce rivals in modern times, with England also developing rivalries with Germany and Argentina in the late 20th century, but the Three Lions remain largely disliked by Scottish football fans.

England and Scotland are wearing unique pre-match tops ahead of the 150th Anniversary Heritage Match at Hampden Park. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

The first game between the two sides took place in 1872 and is the world’s first and oldest international football fixture.#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/s7Xrr1vYfS

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 11, 2023

England vs. Scotland head to head record

Here's a table of all the wins, losses and draws for each side in the history of the England vs. Scotland fixture over the past 150 years. The majority of their games came in the now-defunct British Home Championship, which was by between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (previously competing as Ireland) from 1884 to 1984.

Recent England vs. Scotland fixtures and results

England and Scotland met in a two-legged qualifying playoff for Euro 2000 in November 1999, with the Three Lions triumphing over two legs, winning the first game in Glasgow 2-0 thanks to a Paul Scholes brace. They lost the home leg 1-0 at Wembley but progressed to the tournament on aggregate.

After that, there was a near 14-year period in which the sides didn't meet at all until friendlies in 2013 and 2014 kickstarted the rivalry, with the past three encounters all being competitive, including two World Cup qualifiers and one game in the Euro 2020 group stage, which ended in a 0-0 stalemate at Wembley.

The most recent game at Hampden Park was a dramatic World Cup qualifier in 2017 in which two late Leigh Griffiths free-kicks looked to have stolen a 2-1 win for Scotland before Harry Kane equalised with the final kick of the match.

List of England vs. Scotland matches in 21st century