Scotland 2-2 England

Leigh Griffiths had not scored for Scotland before netting a quick-fire double of free-kicks against England

Harry Kane scored a 93rd-minute leveller to deny Scotland a famous World Cup qualifying win over England at Hampden.

Leigh Griffiths had turned the game on its head, netting two stunning free-kicks on 87 and 90 minutes to give the Scots a 2-1 lead.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had given the visitors a 70th-minute advantage.

England lead Group F with 14 points from six games, Scotland are fourth with eight points.

The result means England are now unbeaten in 35 qualifying fixtures, a run stretching back to 2009.

Griffiths, Griffiths, Griffiths

When Scotland needed someone to believe, to insist that they were not beaten in the game or in this qualifying campaign, Griffiths stepped to the fore.

Leigh Griffiths nets his first of the day to make it 1-1

With two sweeps of his left foot he turned the contest and gave Scotland fresh hopes of qualification. The striker had been an effective presence throughout the game, holding up the ball well, releasing it at the right times and showing clever awareness.

No chances were created for him, but he took the two opportunities that came his way with devastating accuracy from free-kicks 25 yards out. Having the nerve and presence of mind, only moments after scoring his first, to be as accurate and poised again for the second was remarkable.

At that moment, Scotland would have felt elated, but the game still had one cruel twist to deliver.

Banking on a treble

The dilemma for Gordon Strachan was where best to place Kieran Tierney. He knew that the Celtic left-back would be a solid and dependable figure at right-back, but that would mean leaving out Ikechi Anya, one of the other players in his squad who is quick across the ground.

When England were likely to be sending out Marcus Rashford, Kyle Walker and Ryan Bertrand, Scotland needed as much pace in their side as Strachan could muster. There was the threat, too, of the combinations between Kane and Dele Alli in attack, so the prospect of a three-man defence, with Tierney on the left, Charlie Mulgrew playing as the spare man at sweeper, and Anya at right wing-back made sense.

Harry Kane produced a composed back-post finish to earn England a point at Hampden

It was a bold decision by Strachan, since the left-footed Christophe Berra played on the right of the three and Tierney is a dynamic, attacking full-back. He is also, though, a clever defender with shrewd instincts. For long periods of the game, the back-three looked stable enough to justify Strachan's decision.

Mulgrew tended to offer security between his two centre-back partners, and Kane was seldom a threat, yet he slipped free once, in time added on, to stab home the equaliser and reduce Scotland's haul from this game to one point.

Midfield imbalance

Scotland ought to have been most competitive in midfield. Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong have been in excellent form all season for Celtic, while James Morrison was a vital figure in the last game, a 1-0 win over Slovenia.

Brown was booked in the third minute, but he remained his usual bullish self. Morrison took a knock early on and never really recovered, needing to be replaced at half-time.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave England the lead

The change improved Scotland since his replacement, James McArthur, was more dynamic and assured on the ball. In the early stages of the second half, Scotland pressed England back and made their defenders look rattled at times.

Replacing the subdued Robert Snodgrass with Ryan Fraser was also the right move by Strachan, while the third substitute, Chris Martin, earned the second free-kick that Griffiths scored.

Strachan made a series of decisions before and during this game, and almost pulled off a famous victory. Yet that will feel like only a small consolation.