Scotland Aims for World Cup Qualification Against Belarus
World Cup Qualifying: Scotland vs. Belarus
Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sunday, 12 October Time: 19:45 BST
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Scotland's head coach, Steve Clarke, expressed his surprise at still being in charge as the team prepares to face Belarus, aiming for their first men's World Cup appearance since 1998. Clarke, 62, will manage Scotland for the 72nd time against Belarus at Hampden, surpassing the previous record held by Craig Brown.
A victory against Belarus, who have yet to earn a point in the qualifiers, would elevate Scotland to the top of their qualifying group. Denmark, the current leaders, will host Greece later on Sunday, and a loss for Greece would secure a playoff spot for Scotland if they win against Belarus.
Clarke is focused on securing three points against a team they previously defeated 2-0 in Hungary last month, although he acknowledged the significance of reaching this personal milestone. “I’d be foolish not to be proud,” he stated. “However, this is not about me; it’s about the team and our goal of reaching the World Cup.”
Since taking over from Alex McLeish in 2019, Clarke has successfully guided Scotland to two European Championships. Having narrowly missed qualifying for the 1990 World Cup as a player and falling short against Ukraine in the playoffs for the last finals as head coach, he is keen to add a World Cup appearance to his achievements. “The objective was to qualify for tournaments,” he reflected. “We’ve achieved that twice, and we want to continue this trend.”
After a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Greece on Thursday, Scotland will make some changes for the upcoming match against Belarus. With Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie suspended and Aaron Hickey injured, players like Billy Gilmour, Lyndon Dykes, and Tony Ralston may step into the starting lineup.
Clarke anticipates a challenging match against a Belarus team likely to adopt a defensive strategy. “In my time here, we’ve performed well against teams we are expected to beat, and it’s crucial to secure points against them,” he noted. “They will come organized and difficult to break down, so it’s up to us to create enough chances to engage our supporters.”
Looking ahead, Clarke is not considering future matches against Greece and Denmark, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the current game. “If you want to qualify, these are the matches you must win,” he warned. “Dropping points against lower-ranked teams complicates qualification.”
Match Statistics
Scotland has won three of their last five encounters with Belarus (D1 L1), all during World Cup qualifying.
This will be Belarus' third visit to Scotland, having lost 4-1 in September 1997 and won 1-0 in October 2005.
Scotland aims to avoid defeat in their first four qualifiers for the first time since the 2002 World Cup qualification campaign.
Belarus has lost their last four matches, including a 6-0 defeat to Denmark, their second heaviest loss ever.
Scotland has not lost at home to a team ranked outside the top 100 since the introduction of rankings in 1992 (P21 W19 D2).
Belarus has lost their last 10 World Cup qualifiers with an aggregate score of 35-4 and has not won any of their last 17 matches outside Belarus.
Clarke's next victory would be his 32nd, tying him with Craig Brown for the most wins in the national team's history.
Lyndon Dykes has scored three goals as a substitute for Scotland, second only to James McFadden's five.