Nevermind, one more before I leave Brazil and Morocco's preview for morning tommorrow, which seems to be highlight game of tomorrow. On to Scotland, I absolutely loved their announcement video, the music Deadbeat's Gospel by Barry Can't Swin is blast. Anyway, Scotland's preview was covered by u/AllWeNeedIsRadioKaka. Thanks for the write up, mate! Scotland arrive at their first World Cup since 1998, after a dramatic injury-time win over Denmark in their final qualifying match, hoping to progress beyond the Group Stage for the first time in their history. That match showed that they are capable of springing an upset or two, and so, despite being handed a group that looks challenging on paper, the Tartan Army will head into this tournament full of optimism. Expect the fans to savour every second of this World Cup run (especially after getting an extra bank holiday to mark their qualification), and expect the players to fight tooth and nail for every ball. About Nickname: Tartan Army (fans) Confederation: UEFA Association: Scottish Football Association (SFA) Best World Cup Finish: Group Stage (1954, 1958, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998) Top National Team Scorers (top 3): Denis Law and Kenny Dalglish (both 30), Hughie Gallacher (24) Most Caps (top 3): Kenny Dalglish (102), Andy Robertson (92), Jim Leighton (91) Manager/Head Coach: Steve Clarke Captain: Andy Robertson FIFA Ranking: 43 History Scotland is the joint-oldest international football team in the world, playing the first international match against England in 1870. Scotland have appeared 8 times in the World Cup, but have never advanced past the group stage. They have come close on a few occasions, being edged out on goal difference by Brazil (1974), Netherlands (1978), and the Soviet Union (1982). Despite this, they have claimed some major upsets, including beating the Netherlands 3-2 in 1978. Their last World Cup qualification came in 1998, where they faced Brazil, Morocco, and Norway. After drawing against Norway, and defeats to Brazil and Morocco, Scotland finished last in their group and were eliminated. Steve Clarke was appointed in 2019, and under his guidance, Scotland successfully qualified for Euro 2020- their first appearance at the Euros since 1996. Scotland followed this up by finished second in their qualifying group for World Cup 2022, but ultimately were beaten by Ukraine in the play-offs and failed to qualify. They qualified for Euro 2024 after finishing second in their group, including a 2-0 win over Spain at Hampden Park, but, as in Euro 2020, they finished winless and bottom of their group in the tournament. At this World Cup, he will become the first manager in Scotland’s history to lead the team into 3 major tournaments. Group Scotland have been handed a tough group. They will begin their tournament against minnows Haiti in a game that they realistically must win if they are to qualify for the knockout round. That game kicks off at 2am Scottish time, but don’t expect that to put much of a dampener on the parties up and down the country if they win. Next up, Morocco, the maybe reigning AFCON champions (depending on who you ask). Regardless of who you ask, though, Morocco are a strong side, ranked 8th in the world and top African nation, and will provide a very tough test to the Scots. Expect Scotland to defend deep and organised for this one. Scotland’s group stage concludes with what feels like their customary match against Brazil. In the 8 World Cups that Scotland have competed in, they have been drawn against Brazil 4 times, and have only avoided defeat once, a 0-0 draw in 1974. In fact, Scotland have never beaten Brazil (or Morocco, for that matter) in their history. Ranked 6th in the world, Brazil will be seeking to go deep into the tournament, and Scotland will have their work cut out to avoid defeat again here. There is some cause for optimism, though. In the expanded 48-team format for this World Cup, just 1 win may be enough to qualify as a best-placed 3rd team, and Scotland will be hopeful of securing passage to the knockout round for the first time. Fixtures Haiti vs Scotland, Saturday 13th June, Gillette Stadium Scotland vs Morocco, Friday 19th June, Gillette Stadium Scotland vs Brazil, Wednesday 24th June, Hard Rock Stadium Squad GK: Craig Gordon (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest), Liam Kelly (Rangers) DF: Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al Etiffaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Dom Hyam (Wrexham), Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb), Nathan Patterson (Everton), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Kieran Tierney (Celtic) MF: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Findlay Curtis (Kilmarnock), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich), Scott McTominay (Napoli) FW: Che Adams (Torino), Lyndon Dykes (Charlton Athletic), George Hirst (Ipswich), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Ross Stewart (Southampton) Notable Absences Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay: perhaps a pair of players that can be slightly disappointed not to be called up are Hearts’ centre back pairing of Craig Halkett and Stuart Findlay. Both have formed a strong partnership across Hearts’ unexpected title challenge, but manager Steve Clarke is known to stick with trusted and established options. With Halkett being uncapped, and Findlay having only earned a solitary cap for Scotland, more experienced options have ultimately been preferred. Oli McBurnie: an absence that is not particularly unexpected, but worth noting. McBurnie has had a great season for Hull, scoring 17 goals in 37 games and scoring a last-gasp winner in the playoff final to secure promotion. Despite this, his performances for the national team across his 16 caps have been reasonably poor (0 goals), and there have been moments in the past which have called into question his commitment to the cause (namely, being caught on video suggesting he did not want to fulfil international duty, and pulling out of squads injured only to then play for his club). With squad cohesion clearly important to Steve Clarke, the potential disruption that such an attitude could cause seemingly outweighs McBurnie’s club form. On the whole, while there are some cases that could be made for some of the more fringe spots in the squad, the selection is generally as expected. Starting XI and Manager Scotland’s usual approach is disciplined and highly structured, keeping it tight defensively and building from a target-forward and midfield runners going forwards. However, with their opening game being against Haiti- realistically a must-win game if they are to qualify to the knockout stage- there may be a temptation to field a slightly more attack-minded team. There are question marks over the goalkeeper and centre-back positions, and the striker position is one that a few players may feel they can compete for too. However, the full-backs and midfielders are likely to be fairly nailed-on. For later group games, expect Gannon-Doak to be benched for McLean or Gilmour, with Christie filling the wide midfield role. For Haiti, however, this is my predicted line-up: Gunn; Hickey, Hanley, McKenna, Robertson; Gannon-Doak, Christie, Ferguson, McTominay, McGinn; Adams Clarke’s Scotland are characterised by being disciplined and organised, filled with hard-working, duel-winning players. Their strength and physicality will also give them an advantage at set piece situations. Clarke has stuck to a trusted core group, a choice for which he has attracted a little bit of criticism. If this is all sounding a little bit Jose Mourinho to you, you might not be far off- Clarke worked as Jose’s assistant manager for 3 years in Mourinho’s first spell at Chelsea. Players to Watch Scott McTominay: Scotland’s talismanic midfielder whose spectacular overhead kick opener against Denmark was iconic enough for it to appear on the Scottish £20 note (well, a collectors’ edition £20 note, anyway). McTominay has gone from strength to strength since joining Napoli from Manchester United in 2024. In his first season in Italy, he scored 12 goals usually from his trademark late runs into the box, and won the Serie A MVP as Napoli won the Scudetto. He was Scotland’s joint-top scorer in qualifying, and has 14 goals in 69 caps. He has a habit of popping up with a goal at crucial moments for his country, so expect him to relish taking up the goalscoring burden from midfield. Who knows, maybe if he gets a goal or two against Brazil, he might make it onto the £50 note. Ben Gannon-Doak: After a season disrupted by a major hamstring injury, Gannon-Doak has done well just to be available for this squad, but will now be hoping to show what his teams have been missing. An explosive, direct winger, Gannon-Doak thrives in 1v1 situations and counter-attacks, using his pace and skill to drive into dangerous areas and create chances (as he did for McTominay’s aforementioned overhead kick). He is a slightly unique profile of player in the Scotland squad, with the other wide players being more inclined to invert into the middle. He could therefore be a player, either from the start or coming off the bench against tired legs, to change the pattern of Scotland’s play and make a crucial difference. John McGinn: Having just tasted silverware with Aston Villa as he captained them to the Europa League trophy, John McGinn will undoubtedly be hungry for more success. McGinn also arrives at the World Cup in good individual form, with 3 goals and 2 assists in his last 5 games for Aston Villa, including a brace in their Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest. A relentlessly hard working, versatile midfielder capable of creating and scoring from distance, McGinn has stepped up for Villa in crucial matches, and will be determined to be a leader for any success Scotland have at this tournament. Talking Points Where will the goals come from?: With Scotland usually sitting deep and countering, a big part of the striker’s role is hold-up and link-up play. Being a prolific goalscorer is therefore somewhat secondary to the job they have to do for the team. This is perhaps an explanation for why Lawrence Shankland, the highest scoring striker in the Scotland squad this season (20 goals for Hearts), only has 4 goals in 18 caps for Scotland. As a result, the burden will need to be shared around, placing extra importance on the late runs into the box of Scott McTominay and the guile of John McGinn if Scotland are to find enough goals. In terms of impact off the bench, the superbly nicknamed Ross “Loch Ness Drogba” Stewart has struggled a bit for fitness, but scored 8 goals in the Championship this season in just 10.8 90s, and could be vital if his minutes are managed well. Craig Gordon: At the age of 43, Gordon could become the second oldest player in World Cup history if he gets onto the pitch this summer, second only to then-45-year-old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary for Egypt in 2018. While this would be a remarkable achievement for Gordon, who has suffered more than his fair share of awful injuries in his lengthy career, this is emblematic of a wider issue for Scotland’s squad- none of their goalkeepers have been regular starters this season. Gordon has played 226 minutes, Gunn 45 minutes, and Kelly 0 minutes this season. The hope will be that this does not contribute to rustiness and mistakes, because against Brazil and Morocco in particular, the Scottish keeper is likely to be busy. History in the making- Scotland’s long, if unsuccessful, history in the World Cup means that this year’s edition presents a new record waiting to be made. Particularly with the expanded 48-team format, Scotland will like their chances of qualifying for the knockout round for the first time in their history. On the other hand, if disaster strikes, they will earn the unwanted record of being the first team ever to be knocked out in the group stage 9 times. Either way, the history books await.   submitted by   /u/jiraiya--an [link]   [comments]