Football: Punchless England held by Scotland at Wembley

LONDON: Lacklustre England were held to a 0-0 draw by a determined Scotland in their Euro 2020 Group D match at Wembley Stadium on Friday (Jun 18).

England defender John Stones headed against the post in the 12th minute while for Scotland Stephen O'Donnell forced Jordan Pickford into a diving save with a fine volley.

After the break, Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall did well to keep out a low drive from Mason Mount while visiting striker Che Adams missed a good chance in the 78th minute, blasting over at the back post.

The result leaves England still well poised to progress, level on four points with group leaders Czech Republic who they host on Tuesday, while Scotland and Croatia have a point each ahead of their meeting in Glasgow on the same day.

"I think it was a frustrating night, we know we can play better," England manager Gareth Southgate said as he accepted responsibility for his side's failure to see off Scotland.

"The whole team can look at ourselves, that starts with me, we've got to be better. We didn't do enough to win the game tonight.

"Not enough attempts on goal. We have to go away and look at that."

Southgate made the brave call to replace captain Harry Kane with 15 minutes remaining and England chasing a winner.

His replacement Marcus Rashford struggled to make an impact either as Scotland comfortably held out for their first point at a European Championship for 25 years.

"We needed more runs in behind," Southgate added on his decision to substitute Kane.

"I felt Marcus Rashford would give us that energy. We have to make these decisions based on what we see."

England now need to beat the Czech Republic on Tuesday to secure top spot in Group D, but have likely already done enough to reach the knockout phase with four points from their opening two games.