Key events
6 min: Malashevich uses his pace to sprint behind McKenna but the defender – now at Dinamo Zagreb of course – uses his experience to shepherd the attacker to the byline and concedes the corner, which comes to nothing.
4 min: Promising signs for Scotland on the left as Gannon-Doak ghosts past Karpovich to reach the byline but it’s a poor cross from the Scotland winger and easily cleared at the near post. Gannon-Doak made it look easy there though.
2 min: Adams goes down in a heap as he gets a nasty nudge in the back from Volkov. A nice welcome to the game from the Belarusian defender.
PeeeeeeeeeEep!
And we’re off in Hungary!
Looks like Ebong will captain Belarus tonight. It’s a much changed side from the XI that lost heavily to Greece. Belarus are the world’s 97th-ranked team, and have not fared well since Uefa and Fifa imposed the current sanctions, winning just three of their 11 competitive matches under the new rules.
The players are out! It’s an eery atmosphere in Zalaegerszeg as the teams make their way out onto the pitch in front of the empty stands. Reminscent of Covid times, although it does give us an opportunity to hear the visiting players belt out a rendition of Flower of Scotland. I can’t say that I am familiar with Belarus’ national anthem but I do know that their players are absolutely dreadful singers, to a man. Let’s hope for a better performance on the pitch.
This piece is worth your time.
Looks like Scotland are moving from the 4-4-2 against Denmark back to a more familiar 4-2-3-1. That is Adams leading the line, McTominay in the No 10 role, Doak-Gammon on the left and McGinn on the right wing. Only four players – Denis Law (30), Kenny Dalglish (30), Hughie Gallacher (23) and Lawrie Reilly (22) – have more goals than McGinn (20), who is a canny presence in that more advanced role.
Billy Gilmour and Lewis Ferguson are the two sitting midfielders in front of the back four. Ryan Christie is unlucky to miss out, having started against Denmark. Scotland’s strength in depth is impressive these days. I’d also be interested in seeing both Lennon Miller and Kieron Bowie off the bench, the latter moving recently from Motherwell to Udinese.
Monday’s Football Daily is here for your reading pleasure.
Scotland will be wary of Belarusian striker Herman Barkouskiwho came off the bench to score Belarus’ only goal in the 5-1 defeat to Greece. Standing at 6ft3in, the forward will certainly keep be a physical match for Souttar and McKenna.
At the other end, interesting that Clarke has gone with Adams as his No 9 over Dykes. Remember, Scotland also have George Hirst to come off the bench as well. Veteran captain Aleksandr Martynovich will be tasked with marking Adams.
Perhaps a little surprising to see Clarke make FOUR changes from the side that drew with Denmark. The introduction of Gannon-Doak and Gilmour was expected given that Scotland will have more of the ball and look to be more enterprising against Belarus, but changing McKenna for Hanley at centre back and Johnston for Hickey at right back is something of a surprise.
The teams!
Belarus: Lapoukhov, Karpovich, Parkhomenko, Volkov, Zabelin, Pechenin, Myakish, Kalinin, Ebong, Malashevich, Barkovsky.
Subs: Ignatovich, pavlyuchenko, martynovich, demchenko, gromyko, yablonskiy, korzun, Malkevich, Kovalev, Pasevich, Pigas, Melnichenko.
Scotland: Gunn, Johnston, Souttar, McKenna, Robertson, Ferguson, Gilmour, McGinn, McTominay, Doak, Adams.
Subs: Kelly, Clark, Hickey, Hanley, Doig, Dykes, Christie, Hendry, Miller, Hirst, Bowie, McLean.
Referee: Nikola Dabanovic (Montenegro)
Preamble
Scotland’s 0-0 away draw in Denmark, the top seeds in Group C, meant Steve Clarke and co secured a valuable point at the beginning of their qualifying campaign as the Scots bid to play in their first World Cup since 1998.
But if the Danish draw was a result built on resilience and caution, the onus will now be on Scotland to go and win tonight against Belarus, surely the weakest team in this group and also hampered by no home support here – Monday’s match will take place in Hungary in front of precisely zero fans, owing to Uefa-imposed sanctions related to the Belarus’s involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war. If that is a huge blow for Belarus, it is also disappointing for the Tartan Army – the city of Zalaegerszeg was reportedly favoured over Budapest because it is 80 miles from the nearest airport and seen as a deterrent to travelling Scottish fans, although it does appear from some early pre-match photos that some Scotland fans have made the journey regardless.
Clarke started in Copenhagen with a conservative 4-4-2, and with wide players Ryan Christie and John McGinn that are valued just as much for their defensive work as their attacking threat. Might we see Ben Gannon-Doak from the start instead on the wing, even if the 19-year-old has only featured 45 (torrid) minutes for Bournemouth this season? Scott McTominay was forced to play in a deeper role against Denmark, but if the Napoli man is fit to start (he is said to be carrying a knock), expect the current Serie A MVP to be much more advanced here, roaming much closer to the striker(s). Belarus’ defensive midfielder Nikita Korzun is poised to have a busy and exhausting night as he attempts to shackle McTominay.
Belarus were pumped 5-1 by a resurgent Greek side in their own opener and are rank outsiders for qualification. But Scotland have become unstuck in these sorts of games before. Clarke knows that only too well but this is already a must-win game for Scotland, if they are to break their 27-year World Cup hoodoo.
Kick-off: 7.45pm BST.
