Will Scots back the Three Lions against Argentina - or it is 'anyone but England'?

ByAngus Cochrane

Senior journalist, BBC Scotland

England are two games away from ending 60 "years of hurt".

The first hurdle is an epic World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

But for real hurt, as anyone north of the border will tell you, try supporting Scotland.

The men's team at least managed to join the party in the United States this year, albeit briefly.

As the Tartan Army reminisces about those heady June days in Boston and Miami, a debate is emerging:

Should Scots back their near neighbours, or support anyone but England?

Scotland versus England is the original international football rivalry, dating back to 1872.

Both countries lay claim to being the inventors of the sport and in the early days the fixture was dominated by the Scots, who popularised the passing game.

By 1966, England were World Cup champions. Scotland, meanwhile, have never made it past the first round.

This year, qualifying for their first World Cup since 1998, Scotland's men's team were again unable to break that curse.

As England progress, possibly to a final, some Scottish football fans are making tricky decisions about where their loyalties lie.

Tartan Army organiser Hamish Husband, who was partly brought up in England and supports Carlisle United, does not watch England games.

"I feel too guilty about wanting them to lose," he tells BBC Scotland News.

As for a second World Cup title for England, Hamish asks rhetorically: "How could we live with it?"

It's not about the players, the manager, or the fans, he explains.

"England is our big brother, and sometimes you don't want your big brother to do well, do you?" Husband says.

Foremost in his thoughts is the media reaction to any English World Cup victory.

He says: "The Dutch don't watch German national games with German commentators, but we watch England games with English commentators talking about 'our nation', 'our country'.

"That does rile us."

Perhaps it should surprise no-one that a country whose national anthem reminisces about sending an invading English army homeward "tae think again" does not stand four-square behind the "Auld Enemy".

But that, of course, is just a soundbite. Scots' feelings are more complex.

According to a YouGov poll, external before the World Cup started, almost one in three (31%) Scots said they wanted England to do badly. Just 3% of English people said they hoped Scotland did poorly.

However, about one in 10 Scots - and a similar proportion of English people - said they would support their neighbours.

That correlates with the almost one in 10 people living in Scotland (506,207) that were born in England, according to the 2022 census, external.

Family ties also run deep.

Robbie McSkimming, born and raised in Dunfermline, Fife, is a committed Scotland supporter and has cheered on the team against England at Hampden.

Yet, thanks to cross-border family links, the 30-year-old has long backed the Three Lions in the latter stages of international tournaments.

"Growing up there wasn't too much to cheer about for Scotland anyway," he tells BBC Scotland News in Glasgow.

"So when I was young and getting into football, having the choice to watch an England team that had all the players that I was watching on Match of the Day was quite enticing."

Robbie describes the "anyone but England" mentality as a "bit of fun in football", but says it is natural for him to support any team he has more in common with, whether that be England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

Hamish says there is no excuse for anything beyond light-hearted jesting.

He also describes Scots dressing up in sombreros, Viking helmets or Argentina jerseys as "a bit churlish".

Churlish or not, Argentina tops have not been an uncommon site in Scotland - or indeed Boston - this summer, a nod to England's intense rivalry with the South Americans.

The last time England faced Argentina in a World Cup knockout tie, in 1998, one Ayrshire factory capitalised on the fixture by manufacturing the famous blue and white jerseys.

In the three Glasgow sports shops visited by the BBC on Tuesday, Argentina strips were in plentiful supply. There were no England shirts on sale.

During the 2002 World Cup, SNP economy spokesman Andrew Wilson attempted to reframe the relationship.

He called for the Tartan Army to back England, arguing it would be "a symbol for the strength of Scottish self-confidence".

Ahead of the 2006 tournament, a fresh-faced Andy Murray joked in a press conference that he would be supporting "anyone but England" - leading to hate mail and a clarification that he was not anti-English.

This year even King Charles got involved, cheekily noting it may be "too much to hope" that the Tartan Army would "cheer with full voice" for England after Scotland were knocked out.

While Scottish broadcaster Andrew Neil declared his support, external for the Three Lions following Scotland's elimination, comments made last week by SNP MP Lara Bird suggest the King was right not to expect Scots to back England.

Bird, who is half English, told Politics Live, external that Scots had become "really passionate" Mexico and Norway supporters ahead of their games with England, adding that she was likely to cheer on the Norwegians.

The MP laughed it off as a light-hearted bit of fun, but not everyone agreed.

Several commenters called it "pathetic", while others expressed puzzlement.

"If Scotland were playing anybody else in the world apart from England I'd be supporting them," MP Karl Turner posted, external.

But to many north of the border, the more pertinent question is why would they be expected to support the "Auld Enemy"?

For them, England's exit would simply be the most entertaining outcome.

A common response on social media is to post a clip of a Kevin Bridges stand-up set from 2020.

Impersonating a perplexed English person, the comedian says: "Let me get this straight ... you actively support the other teams because they're playing England?"

Reverting to his Glaswegian accent, Bridges adds: "That's pretty much it, mate."

Scotland and England's rivalry may be the oldest in football, but the dynamic is not unique.

New Zealanders have regularly seen their larger neighbours, Australia, outperform them at major tournaments.

"New Zealand's like the little brother, and they hate on their big brother a little bit and don't want them to do well," Jared McMillan, a Kiwi, tells BBC Scotland News.

Growing up in Gisborne, New Zealand, he spent almost a decade working in Melbourne, Australia.

Jared describes New Zealand's footballing community as tight-knit, having even faced some of the country's future international players while at university in Wellington.

Now based in New York, he says watching Australia games in Melbourne could be "insufferable".

He says: "When everyone's happy and thinking they're the best, you're thinking I don't know about that - you're going to play a proper team soon, and you'll you'll be found out.

"That might be similar, I guess, to how Scots feel about England."

Hamish, the Tartan Army organiser, spent a happy week in the United States last month, where he says Scots became "more popular than Taylor Swift".

But having once again seen the team exit at the group stage, he reflects: "I wish our football team was better.

"England could have the best football team - possibly world champions - but we've got the best fans in the world."

Scant consolation, perhaps. But when you support Scotland, you take what you can get.