Steve Clarke is bidding to become the first manager to steer Scotland beyond the group stage of a major tournament, but after two World Cup outings, their hopes of progressing from Group C hang in the balance. They have three points following a 1-0 win over Haiti and a 1-0 reverse against Morocco — a tally that could be enough should they avoid a heavy defeat against Brazil on Wednesday, while a point would all but guarantee their place in the last 32.
In the build-up to this tournament, Clarke deployed a 4-4-2 formation in friendlies against Curacao and Bolivia to great effect, scoring eight goals across the two matches. He stuck with the same shape for the tournament opener against Haiti, but Scotland had fewer shots than their opponents and a lower expected goals (xG of 1.05 v 1.21). John McGinn's winning goal came via a deflection, while starting strikers Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams were on the periphery.
“Scotland have three points after a win over Haiti and a loss to Morocco, needing to avoid a heavy defeat against Brazil to progress.”
Shankland dropped to the bench against Morocco as Clarke bolstered his midfield, but once again Adams failed to get into the contest. Often an isolated figure up front, he failed to hold the ball up and get Scotland up the park, managing just 11 touches before being substituted for Lyndon Dykes on 71 minutes. Scotland finished the game with zero shots on target.
It seems likely Clarke will go with the same system against Brazil, but there could be a personnel change with Dykes, Shankland, Ross Stewart and George Hirst competing with Adams to lead the line. Winger Ben Gannon-Doak, having impressed against Haiti, provided much-needed late dynamism off the bench as Clarke's side finished strongly against Morocco. Fellow wide player Findlay Curtis, 19, came off the bench late on against Haiti for his World Cup debut and also offers pace and trickery.
Although Scotland have struggled to carve out meaningful opportunities in their two group matches, they have been largely solid in defence. One mistake against Morocco was punished as Ismael Saibari raced past Grant Hanley to score the game's only goal after just 70 seconds. However, from that point onwards, the Scots' back four limited their high-quality opposition to relatively few chances. Jack Hendry was superb, averting danger more than once with his pace and reading of the game.