On Sunday, old enemies will go head-to-head as England take on Scotland at the Women’s World Cup, continuing a rivalry that is like no other in sport. Neighbors and fierce foes, this is a World Cup opener neither team will want to lose.
CNN Sport talked to former England stars Eni Aluko and Kelly Smith, former Manchester United boss David Moyes, and Celtic Women’s captain Kelly Clark to find out what sets this fixture apart from the rest.
Kelly Clark, Celtic Women’s captain — ‘Whether it’s the weather or sport, you just want to beat England’
It’s such a big fixture. At the European Championship in 2017, England beat Scotland 6-0, so the Scottish girls will want to better that.
I don’t think there’s a bigger fixture for a Scottish player, it’s the old enemy, it’s who you want to play and it’s who you want to beat. The buzz around Scotland for this game is different to any other game. If just feels like more.
You just want to be better than England. It goes all the way back to history, when you learn about Robert the Bruce at school, and the freedom type story puts this rivalry in your head from a very young age and it doesn’t end.
The game in Scotland has grown a lot, even getting to the World Cup, for us to get a good result in a fixture like that the whole country would be talking about it. For the headline to be ‘Scotland beat England’ would just be huge in the country.
Eni Aluko, 102 appearances for England — ‘There’s always an edge to this fixture’
I have played against Scotland but always in friendly games, never in competitive ones, but even in friendlies there’s always an edge to this fixture.
With the history and the rivalry, it was a game taken seriously by players, by coaches and by fans. There’s just that edge to it — tackles flying in, calls to the referee. It’s a game each team want to win.
