Scotland rivalry sparks Hodgson's imagination

England manager Roy Hodgson believe his side's pairing with Scotland for 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ qualifiers will provide clashes of an intensity rarely seen in the preliminary stages.

The oldest sides in international football were drawn together along with Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania and Malta at a grand ceremony in St Petersburg to officially launch the competition.

However, despite the attention garnered by the clash with their neighbours, Hodgson admitted he was happy to avoid the likes of Italy and France in the draw. "It's not a walk in the park, but I think it could have been an awful lot harder," he said.

"I think the Scotland games will be the two games in the qualifying stages that really excite everyone and ignite the imagination and we've got to be up for it.

"You don't play the fixtures on paper, you play them on the field and you've got to be very careful because we've just played Slovenia recently. I thought we played quite well and deserved to win, but it wasn't easy and it won't be again."

Hodgson's men were 3-1 victors when the two sides met in a friendly at Celtic Park in November. However, they haven't met in a competitive fixture since England edged a play-off for UEFA EURO 2000 by 2-1 back in 1999.
Source: AFP