Steve Clarke is preparing to name a historic line-up: the first men's Scotland XI to feature at a World Cup in 28 years. The head coach must decide whether to stick with the front-footed 4-4-2 formula that produced back-to-back four-goal warm-up wins against Curacao and Bolivia.
After a clinical first-half showing against Bolivia in New Jersey, the expectation is that Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams will spearhead the attack. Former Scotland striker Kenny Miller said he would be "very surprised" if the duo are not paired together again. "Clarke has played that formation for these two preparation games," Miller said. "It makes sense and he's looked at a couple of different combinations within that. The performance on Saturday with Shankland and Adams - and the fact they were both on the scoresheet - means I would be very surprised if it wasn't those two."
“Steve Clarke prepares to name Scotland's first men's World Cup XI in 28 years against Haiti.”
Captain Andy Robertson and Aaron Hickey seem certainties at full-back, with winger Ben Gannon-Doak and midfielder Scott McTominay – tummy trouble permitting – also expected to start. In the midfield four, Ryan Christie and Lewis Ferguson will likely battle for the final spot if Aston Villa captain John McGinn returns to the XI. Goalkeeper Angus Gunn is assumed to be first pick after playing the full 90 minutes against Bolivia, but uncertainty remains at centre-back: Scott McKenna, John Souttar, Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry all received minutes in the past two friendlies.
The significance of beating the lowest-ranked nation in their group is not lost on Scotland. With three points and a reasonable goal difference potentially enough to progress to the knockouts, the match in Boston carries enormous weight. Yet Haiti have shown they will be a threat, having qualified for the tournament and then smashed New Zealand 4-0 during their World Cup preparations. The Scots have built a reputation of faltering when expectation against favourable opposition is high, but recent goalscoring form suggests this could be a different story.