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The visitors should have taken a deserved lead midway through the first half when Stamford Bridge loanee Jake Clarke-Salter headed over unmarked from Everton’s Kieran Dowell’s corner.
Yet, curiously, it was Scotland who nearly scored the opener on the half-hour mark when Ross McCrorie hooked over a volley right in front of goal after former team-mate David Bates had looped a header towards him.
But England responded by missing a sitter of their own when West Brom’s Harvey Barnes blazed over with only
Doohan to beat after Scotland were badly caught out on a quick English counterattack. Abraham then missed another fantastic chance for the visitors when he smacked a volley from 10 yards wide.
Scotland just about clung on until half time but it took a fantastic diving save from Doohan to keep out a stinging shot from Solanke as he closed in on the opener. Josh Onomah, the Spurs midfielder on loan at Sheffield Wednesday then sliced wide.
Gemmill took off the anonymous Shaw at half time with Rangers’ Glenn Middleton taking his place and the Scots won their first corner of the match in the 49th minute.
But normal service was soon resumed and Doohan produced another excellent save from a zippy low drive from Barnes to turn around his post and England retained possession and almost total control of the ball.
The long-awaited breakthrough came on the hour mark after McCrorie was booked trying to rescue a hospital pass from David Bates. He tripped up Dowell handing England a free-kick from 25 yards out.
And the quality of Nelson’s sweetly-struck effort was superb as he pinged it into the top corner for Doohan to finally be beaten and give England a richly-deserved lead.
The goal changed nothing. England continued to pour forward. Lewis Morgan even gave them a late scare when he blasted over after fine hold-up play from Middleton.
And Middleton even forced the first save of the match from Henderson late on as the hosts pushed for the unlikeliest of equalisers.
But that would have been an almighty travesty. England are a class above Scotland and at least made the scoreline more accurate when Everton’s Dowell curled a shot into the net with almost the last kick of the ball.