Auld Enemies will light the fuse for the 2019 Women’s World Cup

In the blue corner, Scotland’s Shelley Kerr.

In the white, England’s Phil Neville.

As players, they won 118 international caps between them – exactly 59 each.

As managers, the stakes have never been higher than they’ll be on the south coast of France next Sunday.

It’s a battle between the Auld Enemies at the Allianz Riviera in Nice, their opening game of the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

Japan and Argentina make up the rest of Group D, but there’s no doubt which of the opening 24 group games has captured the imagination most.

Both managers will leave nothing to chance in their effort to get off to a winning start.

After that, Shelley Kerr will let her players do what they want – and she’s perfectly relaxed about that.

She says her senior players, and not her, will set the rules for what to do in their down time when they get to France.

There are five days between each of the Group D games.

Unlike Euro 2017, when Anna Signeul was in charge of the Dark Blues and the squad were able to base themselves in Utrecht for the entirety of the group phase, the size of France means upping sticks from Nice to Rennes, and then Rennes to Paris.

And Kerr confirmed: “The players set the rules. That’s important, because if it’s their rules, they’re breaking their own rules.

“They set the standards, not me. I’m not going to enforce everything they do because I’m not a dictator.

“I have a lot of trust in them. We have a great leader in our captain, Rachel Corsie, and other senior players such as Kim Little and Jen Beattie.

“They set their own rules and have been very good at it. I trust them implicitly and have never had a bit of bother with them.

“They’re role models and the values and standards they have set have been phenomenal. I have no worries there.”

© Andrew Milligan / PA Wire

Allowing players such freedom would have been unthinkable for Scotland men’s teams in the past.

The outcome might have been all too predictable, like the night Jimmy Johnstone went adrift in a rowing boat off Largs before the 1974 World Cup.

Kerr has no worries on that score. Her players don’t even consume fizzy drinks when on Scotland duty, never mind alcohol.

It was one of the first things Anna Signeul insisted on when she arrived from Sweden to be head coach in 2005, and the players have completely bought into it.

“I’ll have a diet Coke, but I’m not playing!” Kerr joked.

“It’s not a ban as such, but the players do everything in a professional manner.

“Wine will not be on the cards, and they won’t have alcohol. It dehydrates you, and if you are going to perform to your optimal best, you need to do everything in a professional manner.”

The head coach was not part of the Scotland set-up at the Euros, but she has listened to what her players thought of the experience, both positive and negative.

As with the rules, Kerr is happy to give the 23-player squad some flexibility with their down time.

“It’s a wee bit different from the Euros as we’re not in the same base camp,” she pointed out. “So there will be travel days.

“We’ll set up a games room, and they will also have time with their families. I’ve been a player myself and I know how important it is to switch off.

“When you’re trying to get the best out of players tactically, it can be mentally draining so it’s important they are given time to switch off.

“We’ve done that previously, and in the Algarve Cup, for example, the players were usually given a day off after games.

“It might be more difficult in France because of security, especially in Nice and Paris.

“Rennes is different as we’re out in the country, and there are acres of land, a golf course and a cycle route no one else can go on.

“We need to make sure we are prepared for every game. That’s our first priority.

“But the players need to enjoy this experience as well.

“We can’t keep them cooped up in the hotel.”