Move for England to take on Scotland gathers pace

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But the FA have two friendly dates to fill in May. In Durban, officials from Scotland made informal approaches.

Gordon Smith, the chief executive of the Scottish FA, is very keen to stage such a game — which could involve a return fixture at Hampden Park — and the idea has received Prime Minister Gordon Brown's support.

FA officials are also keen because Wembley could be sold out at a time when enthusiasm for the national team might be limited.

Brown would like to see a one-off staging of the old home nations championship but England have no desire to be part of one.

The Celtic nations, including the Republic of Ireland, are keen to hold the Celtic Cup instead. Their national associations have agreed 'in principle' to a biennial tournament starting in 2009. The agreement commits the countries to arranging three tournaments, played on a league basis.

Home and away games will be rotated, with each team playing three matches per tournament.

An FA source, in Durban for Sunday's World Cup draw, said: 'Playing Scotland is something we will give thought to. They would like the game and it will be discussed. Ideally we would like to talk about it with our new manager before making a decision.'

For FA officials it is one of a number of logistical issues that have been raised. If England do qualify from a difficult group and reach the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the FA will have to find a base for altitude training prior to the tournament.

There are 10 venues for the World Cup and half are more than 1200 metres above sea level.

'That could be a real concern,' said one FA official. 'You would want to train for at least four weeks at altitude before coming.'