John Collins recalls Scotland’s last Wembley win
That maybe, just maybe, the 1-0 victory in the second leg of the teams’ Euro 2000 play-off in November 1999 was meaningless because it didn’t overturn the 2-0 loss for Craig Brown’s side at Hampden four days earlier.
Collins can close his eyes and still picture the Tartan Army in full song as he walked off at Wembley, and still feel that aged 31 he chose the right moment to “bow out” from the international domain that had brought him 58 caps. In his mind, the mental images he can recall of his final 90 minutes in a Scotland shirt ought to disabuse any cynics with the temerity to suggest that, ultimately, England had their ancient adversaries right where they wanted them – even after the concession of a Don Hutchison strike, right. “They probably thought: ‘This is easy’,” says the former Hibs, Celtic, Monaco, Everton and Fulham midfielder. “But, trust me, their faces after 15 minutes showed they were thinking: ‘S***! We aren’t getting hold of the ball here.’
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