England fans apathetic about team, says Scotland's Snodgrass

LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland winger Robert Snodgrass says England fans have become apathetic about their country's fortunes as Friday's World Cup qualifier between the arch-rivals looms at Wembley Stadium.

England fans apathetic about team, says Scotland's Snodgrass

(Reuters)





Hull City's Snodgrass, who is in contention to play in the Group F clash after an ankle injury, said England fans were disillusioned after repeated failures at major tournaments.

"I speak to English people and I don't think they want England to do well because it's the same old story all the time," Snodgrass said in British media on Wednesday.

"That's sad, actually, when you think about it."

Snodgrass added that all Scots hope England lose, whoever they are playing.

"I think the full country does, to be honest," he said. "That's just the way we were brought up."

Friday's match is the first competitive meeting between England and Scotland since 1999.

On that occasion Scotland sprung a surprise by winning 1-0, although it was not enough to win a two-legged Euro 2000 playoff as they had already been beaten 2-0 at home.

While a defeat by Slovakia and draw with Lithuania have damaged Scotland's chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Snodgrass said the pressure was on England.

"They've always probably been that step ahead, especially in the last 10 or 20 years when we've been trying just to get to major tournaments and they are saying they should be winning them," Snodgrass said.

England, who lost to Iceland in the last 16 of this year's European Championship, are top of the group with seven points, while Scotland are fourth on four after three matches.





(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Ken Ferris)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world