Can Steve Clarke’s men make the nation sing once again?
A deeper look into the teams Scotland will face in the FIFA World Cup group stages.
The Scotland men’s national team are in contention to reach their second major tournament in two years, after over 2 decades away. The 1998 FIFA World Cup was that competition, losing 3-0 to Morocco in the final match.
The men’s squad are in group F, facing the likes of Denmark and Austria. Israel, Faroe Islands, and Moldova make up the rest, giving Scotland a fair chance to qualify.
Let’s take a look at the teams between Scotland and the chance of a place in Qatar in 2022.
Denmark
Starting with the hardest team to beat, Denmark currently rank 12th in the FIFA World Rankings. Their squad includes the likes of Leicester City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen, and Barcelona forward Martin Braithwaite.
Denmark secured their place in pot 1 of the qualifying draw after winning 1-0 against England thanks to an Eriksen penalty and a Harry Maguire red-card. This meant they finished second to Belgium in Group A2 of the Nations League.
Scotland has beaten Denmark in recent years, albeit it being a friendly at Hampden. The game finished 1-0, thanks to a Matt Ritchie goal in the eighth minute.
The two teams last met competitively in the 1986 World Cup, where Denmark switched the score and defeated Scotland 1-0 with an Elkjær Larsen strike in the 57th minute.
This will be the toughest fixture of the group for the Scots, who will probably need to rely on other games to qualify.
Austria
Austria are sitting 23rd in the world rankings currently, boasting squad members such as Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Julian Baumgartlinger and Bayern Munich defender David Alaba.
Austria finished at the top of their Nation’s league group to secure a play-off option for the World Cup, given they do not succeed in the group stages. They were defeated just once by Romania in a 3-2 match.
Scotland hasn’t played Austria competitively since 1997, where Scotland won 2-0 thanks to a double from Kevin Gallacher. This bodes well for Scotland to possibly get a result against the Austrians.
Israel
An all too familiar opponent for the Scots, having defeated them in a penalty shoot-out to reach the Euro2020 play-off final in Serbia. This game famously also ended in a shoot-out that Scotland won to surge to the Euro2020s next year.
Scotland has won five, drawn one, and lost two against the Israelis, and the match will be the sixth time in two years the two sides have met.
The most recent match ended in an Israel win, with Manor Solomon slotting past David Marshall in the 44thminute.
Scotland will be looking to rewrite recent history and overcome the Israel squad, which they have shown is possible with the squad they have now.
Faroe Islands
Scotland will be looking to get the win against 107th ranked Faroe Islands, having never lost a game to the side in their history.
Scotland fans will remember one infamous match between the two, when Faroe Islands took a shock lead against the Scots, going 2-0 up within 15 minutes.
Scotland fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw with a Barry Ferguson goal in the 83rd minute claiming the redemption after Paul Lambert scored 62 minutes in.
Scotland has won every game since, the last being a decade ago in a 3-0 friendly at Pittodrie Stadium.
They will be aiming to continue this four-win streak and take all 6 points from the match days.
Moldova
Sitting at 177th place in the rankings, these two games are the ones Scotland fans will be expecting victories from.
The sides have only met twice before, an away 1-1 draw in 2004 and a 2-0 win at Hampden the following year. Scotland players Steven Thompson and James McFadden scored in these games, so what player will the fans will be looking to for a new Scottish hero this time around?
The struggling side finished bottom of their Nations League group, their only point coming from a 1-1 draw against Kosovo.
Will Engin Fırat’s side look to cause an upset this year, or will the Scots ease past them? All is possible in football.
The Tartan Army will be able to watch all the action in March next year, with the hope that they can sing ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ once again.
After all, if there’s no Scotland, no party!
