With the World Cup Qualifying campaign about to begin, Scotland fans will be asking the same question they ask themselves every second year, can we qualify this time?
My answer? Definitely.
Scotland have been handed a generous draw and finally their luck may be about to turn. Every team in that group Scotland can beat, particularly at home. Belgium, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia and Wales. There’s no big guns in the Group like Spain or France and the Scots genuinely do have a realistic chance in qualifying.
They must play to their strengths and use Hampden to their advantage by making it a fortress. Scotland’s home record is pretty impressive, especially considering they haven’t qualified for a major tournament in 14 years.
To put it into perspective, winger James Forrest was in Primary 3, although the baby-faced assassin hasn’t aged much since.
Serbia, Belgium and Croatia will be tricky ties but surely the Tartan Army must fancy their chances.
Getting off to a winning start against Serbia is crucial and could play a fundamental part in setting the tone for the rest of the qualifying campaign.
By getting 3 points on Saturday, Craig Levein’s men would be sending warning signals out to the rest of Group A that they’re no pushovers and are ready to reach their first major tournament since 1998.
A positive start would also ease some of the pressure on Levein. If he fails to progress from the Group, his tenure as Scotland manager will no doubt be over so he has a point to prove that he is capable of taking the country forward.
There’s quality players within Scotland’s squad pool who are of Premiership and Champions League standard and this is a good a chance as they’ve ever had to progress.
Allan McGregor and Craig Gordon would easily make it into England’s squad and we’re lucky to have those two challenging for the number 1 jersey. However, with Gordon currently looking for a club therefore absent from the squad, McGregor will start in goals.
The defence is what will cause the most concern to Levein. His first choice centre-backs Christophe Berra and Gary Caldwell aren’t the most mobile players and are prone to mistakes. However, I think partnering Caldwell with Scotland’s player of the year Charlie Mulgrew would be a good pairing, with Lee Wallace and Alan Hutton occupying the full-back roles.
In midfield, we are blessed with talent and Levein will have a real headache deciding who to play. Given the former Dundee United manager usually lines up with a 4-5-1 formation, he has 5 players to choose from.
Experienced duo Darren Fletcher and Scott Brown are two of our best central midfielders but both are currently missing through injury and will be big losses. Scotland usually play with a holding midfielder so Caldwell could push up and protect the defence, with Berra filling the centre-half position. Charlie Adam and Graham Dorrans could play in front of him.
Out-wide Scotland are spoilt for choice. James Forrest, Shaun Maloney, Robert Snodgrass, Matt Phillips, James Morrison and Steven Naismith can all play there. I would personally go with Forrest and Maloney as their speed adds a different dimension to a team lacking in pace but I know Levein has a tendency to go with Morrison.
It will be interesting to see who takes the lone striker role with Kenny Miller, Jordan Rhodes and the versatile Naismith all vying for a starting spot. Miller has always been the preferred option but given the form of Rhodes and Naismith, it will be fascinating to see who is selected.
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