Ikechi Anya says Scotland’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against England is an occasion to relish – and he’s hoping it’s a case of third time lucky against the Three Lions.
Anya, 29, has been named in the Tartan Army’s squad for their Group F clash against Gareth Southgate’s side at Hampden Park on Saturday 10th June 2017.
Capped 26 times by his country, Anya has been named in the starting line-up for Scotland’s last two meetings with England.
His first experience of the rivalry came in November 2014 in a 3-1 friendly defeat at Celtic Park, before featuring in Scotland’s 3-0 loss at Wembley earlier this season as part of the qualification campaign for next summer’s World Cup in Russia.
After tasting defeat on two occasions, Anya feels he is due a positive result against England – and he’s determined to be in Gordon Strachan’s thinking for the game.
England top Group F with four wins and a draw from five matches, while Scotland’s dramatic 1-0 win over Slovenia in March – with the Rams’ Chris Martin bagging the winner - means they are still in with a shout of achieving qualification.
Anya told RamsTV: “I’ve been lucky enough to play in a few of these games before and the atmosphere is always electric.
“I felt we were a bit hard done by back in November, but maybe I am a bit biased saying that. I’ve had two games against England and lost them both, so hopefully it can change this time!
“These games are what football is about, especially with the rivalry. It’s probably not the best time for it to appear on the fixture list, but we will deal with the situation.
“England are one of the main contenders in the group so it will be difficult, but we’re at home in front of our fans. If we can keep to our game plan, I think we have a good chance of winning the game.”
Anya, along with the rest of the Derby players, signed off for the summer following the 1-1 draw at Rotherham United early last month.
Since then, as well as taking in a welcome break, the former Watford player has been keeping himself in shape.
After returning to full training at the beginning of this week, he is eager to get back out and playing football.
He said: “There’s only so much you can do in the gym and on the runs that you do, so it’s been good to get into training again.
“We have had a week of it before this game, during which time the manager has assessed things and seen where we are all at.
“You have to do what you can if you want to play for your country. I hope I can be part of the squad and give our supporters a great day.”
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