Gilmour the Star of the Match as England, Scotland battle to scoreless draw; plus Sweden win and Croatia draw

England and Scotland waited a quarter century to match wits on a major international stage, and after all that hype, they managed to battle it out to a grand total of zero goals, though with some good chances and plenty of vim and vigor. The result is obviously much more appreciated by Scotland than England, but if we look at it as a derby match, it’s not terrible for England. And given the 1-1 draw between Croatia and Czech Republic, England remain in excellent position in the group and for advancing to the Round of 16.

The biggest takeaway from this match, as far as we’re concerned, is that Billy Gilmour has once again shown that he’s ready to challenge himself with regular playing time at the top level. The 20-year-old was given his first ever senior start for Scotland, and did not look out of place in his 75 minutes of action. His personal duels with Mason Mount were especially fun to watch. Mount of course played well, as well, as did Reece James, who got the nod at right back and saved a goal with a goal-line clearance, too.

Photo by Shaun Botterill - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images

As mentioned already, earlier in the day, Croatia and the Czech Republic played out a 1-1 draw, with Patrik Schick scoring again, this time from the penalty spot, after being elbowed by Dejan Lovren — and yes, it was an elbow to the face. A foul anywhere else on the pitch should be a foul inside the penalty area as well. Ivan Perisic, who’s been Croatia’s best player thus far, equalized in the second half to keep both teams well in the hunt for the Round of 16.

Lastly, in the early game, Sweden beat Slovakia, 1-0, to get their Euro campaign back on track. Slovakia have to play Spain in the last group game, while Sweden take on Poland.