Scotland will look to begin their preparations for this summer’s World Cup as they welcome Japan to Hampden Park on Saturday night in a friendly.
It looked as if Steve Clarke’s men had fluffed their lines of topping their World Cup qualifying group after losing 3-2 in Greece on MD5, before being pegged back by Denmark twice at Hampden three days later.
However, Steve Clarke’s men scored twice deep into stoppage time to win 4-2 and secure top spot in their World Cup qualifying group, putting an end to their 28-year hiatus from the World Cup finals.
Japan have become a mainstay in the World Cup over the past three decades, with Hajime Moriyasu’s qualifying for their eighth consecutive finals since qualifying for the first time in France 98 – the last time Scotland were at the tournament.
Unlike their hosts, Japan had a far more comfortable qualifying campaign as they finished top of their group, some 10 points clear of third-placed Saudi Arabia.
How the bookies view it: Japan favourites
Despite playing away from home, Japan have been installed as favourites to win at Hampden on Saturday night, with bet365 pricing an away success at 6/5.
Scotland are 9/4 underdogs to claim a victory in front of The Tartan Army, whilst the draw is 23/10.
Head to head: Samurai Blue remain unbeaten
These two nations have only played each other three times in friendlies, with Japan winning once, with the other two ending in draws.
Players to watch: More McTominay magic?
Scott McTominay is having another fine personal season for Napoli, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists across his opening 33 appearances in Serie A and the Champions League this term.
The ex-Manchester United man has scored in both of his last two qualifiers at Hampden – including that stunning bicycle kick against Denmark – and looks value at 15/8 at bet365 to Score or Assist on Saturday.
Predicted line-ups:
Steve Clarke will be without the injured Craig Gordon, Aaron Hickey, Ben Gannon-Doak and Lawrence Shankland.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has withdrawn from the squad, but Celtic’s Daizen Maeda should feature.
Scotland: Gunn, Patterson, Hanley, McKenna, Robertson, Ferguson, McLean, Christie, McTominay, McGinn, Adams
Japan: Suzuki, Taniguchi, Watanabe, Suzuki, Doan, Sano, Kamada, Tanaka, Maeda, Machino, Ueda
Anything else catch the eye?
Friendlies are never the easiest to predict given the uncertainty of the starting 11s, and the motivation for both nations, but there’s a chance we could see an entertaining encounter at Hampden on Saturday night.
Scotland’s previous five matches in front of the Tartan Army have produced 20 goals, with Both Teams to Score landing in four (80%) of them, whilst all five (100%) have gone Over 2.5 Goals.
What’s more, Japan edged a five-goal thriller with Brazil in a friendly last time out, meaning another high-scorer could be on the cards in Glasgow.
GambleAware