So, must England fans now enlist in the Tartan Army?

And one of them is this: we may have to start supporting Scotland.

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Unless Russia drop points against Israel or Andorra, England are likely to be out of the European Championship, irrespective of their result against Croatia.

Elsewhere, Wales and the Republic of Ireland cannot qualify for Euro 2008. Northern Ireland must win their last two games and depend on other results going their way.

Only Scotland have their destiny in their own hands. If Alex McLeish's men can beat world champions Italy at Hampden Park on November 17, they are off to Austria and Switzerland next summer.

So the question all Sassenach football fans must ask as they settle down in front of the TV is which team should I support: Scotland or Italy?

Twenty years ago, even 10, this would not have been a question worth asking: the English would all be roaring on Scotland. We always got behind any British team or individual competitor.

So far as the BBC and ITV sports departments, and all the sports desks of Fleet Street were concerned, backing the Brits, no matter where they came from, was a patriotic duty.

I well remember feeling Scotland's pain in their epic World Cup struggles against the might of, er, Iran, Costa Rica, Morocco: I was right behind plucky Liz McColgan when she won a 10,000metres gold medal at the World Championships in Tokyo: no matter if Jackie Stewart had tartan round his racing helmet, or David Coulthard's bore a saltire, they were British drivers, so I cheered them too.

I'll even support Andy Murray at Wimbledon or in the Davis Cup, despite his endless anti-English drivel. Maybe he'll grow out of it.

Of course, the Scots have long been less enthusiastic about England. Many (but not all) support anyone England play, at any sport.

Traditionally, this has been looked on as a bit of harmless fun. It's only natural for chippy underdogs to resent bigger, more powerful neighbours.

Recently, however, Scottish detestation of all things English has descended to the level of base racism.

During last year's World Cup, a seven-year-old boy was attacked by a grown man in an Edinburgh park and a disabled man was assaulted in Aberdeen. The reason: they were wearing England shirts.

When you hear about that sort of thing, it's hard to admire the Scots and their once-loved Tartan Army.

Nor are the English quite so warmly inclined towards Scotland in general. Our taxes pay for Scots to receive medicines denied to English patients; Scottish students go to college for free, while English kids rack up debts; Scottish politicians from Scottish constituencies pass laws that affect England.

Suddenly the political boot is on the other foot and we're discovering how the suffering Scots have felt all these years.

So does that mean I will be cheering for Italy when the big match comes? Well, actually, no. I shall be giving polite, but generous, support to my northern neighbours.

For one thing, they beat France in Paris, which mademe very, very happy. And even if Scotland qualify for Euro 2008, they will, as always, depart after the group stages, so any triumphalism will be shortlived.

Besides, it will be a blessed relief not to go through the grisly ritual England inflict upon their fans.

It begins with a crumb of hope, proceeding through three or four uninspiring performances, then the players perform like heroes in a knockout game, only to make a pig's ear of the penalty shoot-out.

And in all that time, there is not one iota of genuine sporting pleasure.

But, above all, I will support Scotland because that is what a gentleman would do.

It's all very well for hairy Picts from the windswept north to harbour ancestral grudges but we English should be able to rise above that and behave with generosity of spirit.

Even if some Scots, unfortunately, cannot be so civilised.