Celtic

Mulgrew backing Scotland to beat England

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Charlie Mulgrew believes Scotland can take inspiration from Celtic’s win against Barcelona in 2012 when they take on England on Saturday. 

Gordon Strachan’s side are huge underdogs for the World Cup qualifier at Hampden, with their opponents inflicting a 3-0 defeat on their rivals last November.

Blackburn left-back Mulgrew was part of the Celtic team that beat Barca 2-1 on home soil during a Champions League encounter five years ago.

The former SPL defender believes his home country can keep their World Cup dreams alive by using the belief they experienced on that night to beat England tomorrow.

“Every player goes into every game believing they can get something,” said Mulgrew, as quoted by the Scotsman. “That night against Barca with Celtic, there must have been a belief among us to get something or else we wouldn’t have achieved it.

“The manager, Neil Lennon, was good at giving us that wee bit of hope and highlighting the areas where we could score goals and be effective. The manager here with Scotland is just as good at preparing us for matches and having that bit of belief.

“That night against Barcelona was huge for Celtic. Nobody gave us a chance, but we pulled off a victory. I really hope we can do the same on Saturday.”
At this moment in time, England are top of Group F after they recorded 13 points from their five matches, which gives them a four-point lead on second-placed Slovakia.
By contrast, Scotland’s hopes of playing in next summer’s World Cup in Russia are hanging by a thread as they currently sit in fourth place, two points behind Slovakia and a further six points behind the English.
Strachan’s team will face an uphill task to beat England on Saturday, with Gareth Southgate’s side dropping points on only one occasion during their qualifying campaign.
Mulgrew recently experienced relegation with Blackburn on the last day of the Championship season, with the Lancashire club dropping down to the third tier of English football.

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