Gemmill: England have massive resources but that will count for nothing tonight

Scot Gemmill knows his Scotland team are facing an uphill battle against an England side tonight with resources so unlimited they once paid to get a Brazil youth team to play their kids in a friendly, writes Mark Walker. But he is convinced that makes no difference to his Scotland side where it matters... on the pitch.

Gemmill will be hoping his current crop of youngsters can avenge last season’s Toulon Tournament semi-final defeat by England tonight when the nations meet in Aubagne.

But Scotland are up against a country who last year won the Toulon Tournament, the Under-20 World Cup and the Euro Under-19s finals. Their staff list for this event in France far exceeds every other country – they even have their own chef for their kids.

However, Gemmill insists that will count for nothing tonight. He said: “It’s the same for all the countries with big budgets, in terms of the depth of staff they have. But it’s a real insight into the level England are operating at. Someone told me that the FA recently paid for Brazil Under-17s to play their Under17s in Spain because they didn’t have an opponent. Again, that shows the resources they’ve got. We’re in no doubt about that.

“But it doesn’t mean we should feel inferior to them or concede the game. It’s going to take absolutely everything from us. But, hopefully, we have done enough for us to show optimism here. If you list the teams we have beaten at youth level over the past 18 months, we have shown we can do it. “