SPAIN has long held a special place in the hearts of the Scottish people.

It is the leading holiday destination every summer for those members of our population who are seeking to escape from the relentless wind and rain and relax with a little sun on their backs and a few glasses of sangria.  

The popularity of the country here, though, will rise even further tomorrow night if their footballers do the business in the Euro 2024 final in the Olympiastadion in Berlin and lift the Henri Delaunay for the fourth occasion in their history.

The prospect of England prevailing is not, it is fair to say, a particularly appealing one for many Scots.

Our dear near neighbours have, let’s face it, been insufferable since they won the World Cup back in 1966. What will they be like if they lay their hands on another piece of silverware? It really does not bear thinking about.

Alvaro Morata and his compatriots have received a tsunami of support on these shores since their next opponents edged out the Netherlands at the death in Dortmund on Wednesday evening.

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Much of it, the vast majority of it in fact, has been good-natured. The “Anyone But England” phenomenon is rooted in humour and devilment. Such wind-ups are part and parcel of being a football fan.

This nature of it was perfectly encapsulated when John McGinn joined his Aston Villa team mate Ollie Watkins for an interview on their club television channel about playing for their respective national teams earlier this year.  

“If you’re playing, I don’t want you to lose,” said Watkins, the England striker who came off the bench and struck the decisive goal in the last-minute of regulation time in midweek.

“I would want you to get beat if you were playing,” replied Scotland midfielder McGinn immediately. “We need to watch the telly and listen to English pundits and commentators saying ‘us’. You think, ‘We’re paying our licence fee here!’ It’s a rivalry.”

(Image: PA) Indeed it is. Alas, there are those in this country, as we have witnessed in recent days, who take things too far, whose hatred of the “Auld Enemy” goes far beyond banter, whose bitterness knows no bounds.

The sickening online abuse which has been directed towards former Rangers striker Ally McCoist in the wake of his co-commentary for ITV in the Westfalenstadion has bordered on the actionable at times.

And for what reason? Being positive about the performance of Gareth Southgate’s charges as they overcame Ronald Koeman’s men to reach their second European Championship final in three years. Is a Scot not allowed to praise England if they play well then?

Many viewers will have heard him aiming a dig at his colleague Lee Dixon for “still going on about 1966” during the course of the broadcast. No matter. He was a convenient lightning rod for his more unhinged compatriots to direct their anger at. It has been pathetic, depressing stuff.

Perhaps this England success story has come a little bit too soon after what was a disastrous general election for the SNP and a savage setback for those who dream of one day gaining independence. Maybe emotions are just a bit too raw just now to witness such triumphalism down south.

But why should they care? Nationalists maintain that theirs is a country which is more than capable of flourishing economically on its own. Would they not be better off forgetting about their petty historical grievances and focusing their energies on their many strengths?

They would maybe gain the support of those doubters who, despite their more logical arguments, dismiss them as nothing more than Little Scotlanders, as England haters, if they did so.

As the late, great SNP politician Margo MacDonald once eloquently stated, ''Scotland will never truly grow up until the day comes that England wins the World Cup and Scots shrug and say, 'So what?'.''

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The Tartan Army have rightly been voted the best supporters of their Euro 2024 finals in Germany. They turned up in huge numbers whether they had tickets or not, behaved themselves impeccably for the duration of their stay and won many friends and admirers in the process.

Their renditions of Flower of Scotland before the Germany, Switzerland and Hungary games were rousing and brought a lump to the throat of onlookers. Even those who, like your correspondent, dislike the unofficial national anthem intensely.  

(Image: PA) But it is a song which is, with its celebration of Robert the Bruce’s victory over King Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, anti-English.

Would we not be better off having, as the former Scotland and British and Irish Lions coach Jim Telfer has publicly suggested, an anthem which “shows us standing for something rather than against something as a country”? It would be far healthier to focus on ourselves going forward and forget about “them”.

Spain have been by far the most entertaining side at the Euros so far and I will, despite tipping England to win before the tournament got underway, be hoping they come out on top in Berlin tomorrow like so many Scots. But it will by no means be the end of the world if the unthinkable happens. Will it?