Scotland threw everything they could at England through the medium of song at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary Heritage match between the old enemies but their evening turned into a long lament.

Flower of Scotland was belted out so passionately before the match, packing much more than a century and a half of pride and resentment into its words, that it sent chills down the spine.

At half time, the stadium sang in unison of the ‘bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond’ and, before their players came back out to try to put a dent in England’s 2-0 lead, they played the anthem that has been the accompaniment to their recent successes, ‘Yes, Sir, I can Boogie.’

No one could fault the effort but it did not work. England took the low road in the course of a 3-1 victory where they often outclassed their opponents with their slick passing and assured technique. In the unofficial race to qualify for Euro24, England have the advantage again over Steve Clarke’s side.

Amid all the history and the pomp, this was a welcome boost for England manager Gareth Southgate after the criticism he was subjected to for the horror of falling to a draw against Ukraine in Wroclaw on Saturday.

Scotland were in fine form going into this game, having won the first five of their qualifying ties in a group that includes Spain and Norway, but there were long periods of this game where England made them look naïve.

If the match was something of a reality check for Scotland, it was another sign of England’s pedigree. This was a difficult test in a hostile environment and England passed it with flying colours.

Jude Bellingham was magnificent in midfield, creating two of England’s goals for Phil Foden and Harry Kane and scoring one himself and there were fine performances from others, including Foden and Marcus Rashford. 

Even Harry Maguire, who scored an own goal to give Scotland hope midway through the second half, was cheered from the pitch by the England fans and acknowledged their support with a raised fist.

It was a tremendous occasion that honoured the fierce rivalry that has existed between these two football nations all the way back to November 30, 1872 when they met for the first time at Hamilton Crescent in the Partick area of Glasgow.

It allowed us to wallow in the memories of occasions such as Scotland beating England 3-2 at Wembley in April 1967, encouraging them to claim that they were then rightful world champions after England had won the World Cup the previous year.

Then there was Kenny Dalglish’s goal here at Hampden in 1976, the shot that squirmed through the hands and the legs of Ray Clemence. The following year, Scotland won at Wembley again and members of the Tartan Army swung on the old ground’s crossbars until they snapped.

England has Paul Gascoigne’s bravura goal in the group phase of Euro96 as one of its standout moments from the fixture. And, more recently, the knowledge that it has only lost Scotland’s win at Wembley in November 1999 was Scotland’s only one in the last 37 years and 13 fixtures.

Southgate selected Foden in his starting line-up, which may have given some of the manager’s more hysterical critics pause for thought but probably little more than that. For an England coach who has been more successful than any predecessor since Sir Alf Ramsey. Southgate gets precious little credit for the progress he has brought.

If he picks Foden, he will be criticised for leaving out Rashford. If he leaves out Jordan Henderson – which he did – he will be lambasted for selecting Kalvin Phillips. Some England fans would rather have a high-profile manager and an unsuccessful team. It is a strange bargain they want to strike.

In that world, of course, England should have won both Euro2020 and last year’s World Cup at a canter. In that world, a country such as Scotland should be nothing more than cannon fodder irrespective of the giant strides they, too, have made under Steve Clarke.

The playing of God Save the King was greeted enthusiastically by the Hampden crowd. Their booing and jeering all but drowned it out. Flower of Scotland was belted out with great verve, full of pride and antipathy and resentment.

‘It’s kind of important to them,’ former Scotland international Pat Nevin said before the game, referring to the England players, ‘but it’s not the same. What it means to us is absolutely extraordinary. If any player plays in this game and wins it and is Scottish, you will remember that and talk about that for the rest of your life.’

In spite of all that, England started better. They dominated possession, playing neat triangles, making Scotland chase shadows and freeing Rashford time after time on the left. Twice, Ryan Porteous did well to sense the danger and dispossess the Manchester United forward.

But still Rashford kept finding space behind Scotland’s high line and when 18 minutes had gone, he cut inside and laid a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of Foden. Foden leaned back as he hit it and the ball ballooned high over the crossbar to happy jeers from the home fans.

England forged another opportunity six minutes later. Again, it came down the left. Again, Rashford was instrumental. This time, his slide-rule pass freed Jude Bellingham and when Bellingham’s cross fell to Kyle Walker at the back post, he chested it down but drove his shot across the face of goal.

England got the goal their superiority deserved just after the half hour. They worked the ball down their right until Rashford played it back to Walker. Walker drove it across the box at pace and Foden stuck out his left foot to steer it expertly into the net from close range.

Two minutes later, England were further ahead. As England threatened again, the Scotland defence seemed to panic when they retrieved the ball and instead of clearing it, their captain, Andy Robertson passed it straight to Bellingham.

The Real Madrid midfielder, who has made such an electric start to his career in Spain, was only about ten yards out and he lashed the ball past Angus Gunn to send the England fans behind the goal into raptures.

The home fans appeared to take some consolation in the appearance of Harry Maguire in the second half after he was brought on to replace Marc Guehi. Maguire’s name was cheered, ironically, by the Scots but initially it did little to improve their fortunes.

Then, midway through the half, Robertson made a measure of amends for his earlier mistake. When the Liverpool full-back drove forward and lashed a cross into the box, Maguire stuck out a leg at the front post and inadvertently diverted the ball past Aaron Ramsdale.

Scotland were back in it. When the roar subsided, the home fans sang Maguire’s name over and over again. These are uncomfortable times, for both club and country, for the Manchester United defender.

Substitute Eberechi Eze, on for Rashford, should have re-established England’s two goal advantage when he raced clean through moments after coming on but he could not squeeze his shot past Gunn.

It did not matter. Ten minutes from the end, Bellingham turned brilliantly on the edge of the Scotland area, lost his man with ease and slid a clever pass into Harry Kane. Kane took one touch to control the ball and move it on to his left foot and then curled it around Gunn.