Each heartened by positive results in Euro 2016 qualifying, England and Scotland will renew their 142-year-old rivalry in a hotly anticipated end-of-year friendly at Glasgow’s Celtic Park on Tuesday.
Roy Hodgson’s England are riding high after opening up a six-point advantage at the top of their qualifying group by coming from behind to beat Slovenia 3-1 on Saturday.
Having won all four of their Group E games to date, qualification is already beginning to appear a formality, and in age-old rivals Scotland they face a team who have not beaten them in 15 years.
But Scottish confidence is also on the up and with England’s dispiriting World Cup group-stage exit still fresh in the memory, Hodgson will know that a poor result could disturb his side’s fragile momentum.
England won 3-2 when the teams last met at Wembley Stadium in August last year, with Rickie Lambert scoring the winning goal with his first touch of the ball as an international player.
Tuesday’s resumption of hostilities comes with new political undertones, after the people of Scotland voted against breaking away from the rest of Britain in a fiercely fought independence referendum in September.
England have not ventured north of the border since November 1999, when they won the first leg of a Euro 2000 qualifying play-off 2-0 at Hampden Park, and they can expect a fiery reception.
Scotland enjoyed a rousing 1-0 win over Ireland at a fervent Celtic Park on Friday and England captain Wayne Rooney has warned his teammates to expect a caustic atmosphere at the 60,000-seater ground.
“You don’t realise until you actually play there what the atmosphere is like,” said the Manchester United striker, who marked his 100th England appearance with the equaliser against Slovenia.
“I remember my first time with United against Celtic and I’d actually been up to watch a couple of Celtic games when Alan Stubbs was there and Roy Keane.
“I was in the crowd and the atmosphere was great, but when you’re actually down there it’s different. You don’t realise until you’re on that pitch what it’s like.
“So maybe a few of them (younger England players), you might need to speak to them and say, ‘Listen, this is going to be hostile. Make sure you blank it out, relax, and play your normal game. Don’t get involved in it’.”
Scotland’s win over Ireland, secured by a sumptuous Shaun Maloney curler, left Gordon Strachan’s team level on points with Germany and Ireland in Group D and three points below leaders Poland.
Hopes of a first major tournament appearance since the 1998 World Cup therefore remain fully intact ahead of the winter break, and Charlie Mulgrew says there will be no slackening off ahead of England’s visit.
“It will be a huge game,” said the Celtic midfielder.
“Even though it is named a friendly there is never a friendly between Scotland and England, so we are looking forward to it.”
England have allowed goalkeeper Joe Hart to return to Manchester City to rest, which means that Southampton’s Fraser Forster could start at the stadium where he previously spent four years with Celtic.
Hodgson could hand a debut to West Bromwich Albion’s Saido Berahino and will also want to test the sharpness of Ross Barkley and Theo Walcott, but wholesale changes are unlikely.
“I will change the team, but we are not looking to play a totally different team up in Scotland because we know that it is going to be a tough game,” Hodgson said.
“And a game like that in Scotland will probably tell me a little bit more about this team.”
Strachan is expected to rejig his starting XI, with Celtic goalkeeper Craig Gordon in line to win his first cap for four years after serious injury problems forced him into a two-year career hiatus.
Striker Steven Fletcher is likely to miss out after injuring his ankle against Ireland.
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
More from Neighbourhood Watch
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS
Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
LEAGUE CUP QUARTER-FINAL DRAW
Stoke City v Tottenham
Brentford v Newcastle United
Arsenal v Manchester City
Everton v Manchester United
All ties are to be played the week commencing December 21.
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
