Scotland World Cup Team Blog » Team News

Scotland U17 in Cup final … against England!

Ian Rose — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 07:17:57 +0000

Ever heard of the Nordic Cup? Truth be told, neither have I. I will be the first to admit that, while I think the youth game is incredibly important, I don’t always keep up with it as much as I should. Sufficed to say, it is a preseason youth tournament made up of northern European sides (Scandinavia plus England, Ireland and Scotland most years). England has won it, between the different age classes, a record 9 times. Scotland – never. And now we have the chance for me to write my favorite sentence on Earth:

Scotland beats England in Cup Final.

That is, assuming of course, that we win.

Scotland’s U-17 side has reached the final of this Nordic Cup, to face the younger version of our Auld Enemies the English. They reached this point after beating Finland 4-1 and Iceland 2-1, then drawing with Sweden 0-0. Considering the heavily Scandinavian makeup of our senior World Cup qualifying group, I am choosing to see this as a very, very good omen.

If any of you would like to see the young Scots’ goals to this point, and hear individually from each of the 13 fans in attendance, check out the SFA’s video here – CLICK.

After this horrific week for Scottish sides in Europe, where Motherwell went down 3-0, Aberdeen 5-1 (at home) and Celtic 1-0, it’s good to know that there’s some strength coming up for the future.

Mon the Scots – let’s finish this one, lads.

FIFA: Team GB will be Team England

Ian Rose — Sun, 31 May 2009 22:18:14 +0000

The disastrously bad idea that was Team GB for the London Olympics is finally dead today, as FIFA agreed to allow England to represent Great Britain at the games. I can’t say I’m 100% thrilled, as I loved the idea of a tournament playoff and thus the possibility of a Scotland team at the Olympics, but this is the next best thing. England will host the games, England will play at the games, and that’s entirely fine by me. I won’t promise to root them on or anything, but I’m glad it’s worked out.

Apologies for the long wait between posts. I’ll attempt to do a better job as we head into the summer World Cup qualifiers. Mon the Scots.

Another bloody squad post: Holland

Ian Rose — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 14:17:50 +0000

Here’s the list of Dutchmen that we’ll be facing a week from today. As always with Holland, the strikers are frightening, the midfield intimidating … the rest? Without the known quantity of Edwin van der Sar between the sticks, it’s hard to say.

Mon the Scots. Oh, and I’m no Dutch-hater, but if I didn’t include at least one toit-like-a-toiger reference, I just wouldn’t respect myself.

Keepers: Henk Timmer (Feyenoord), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht);

Defenders: Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Andre Ooijer (Blackburn), John Heitinga (Atletico Madrid), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Edson Braafheid (FC Twente), Dirk Marcellis (PSV Eindhoven), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax);

Midfielders: Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Wesley Sneijder (Real Madrid), Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Demy de Zeeuw (AZ Alkmaar), Arjen Robben (Real Madrid), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar);

Forwards: Klaas Jan Huntelaar (Real Madrid), Dirk Kuyt, Ryan Babel (both Liverpool), Robin van Persie (Arsenal).

Holland v Scotland: The Keeper Situation

Ian Rose — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:51:49 +0000

Long story short: Nobody quite knows who will man the sticks on March 28th in Amsterdam. On the home side, Edwin van der Sar said today that he wouldn’t be returning to international duty for the Netherlands. In a word, yay. Any day you don’t have to line up against a Champions League holder, that’s a good day. Test the new guy, Scots.

On our own side, there’s just as much doubt. Craig Gordon was the clear #1 for Scotland even before his big move to Sunderland, and at the end of last season, he only seemed to be consolidating that position. Now, his starting position at the Black Cats in question after a horrible few months of form, is it finally time for Allan McGregor to take over?

As I see it, yes it is. McGregor is better on form, and very close to as good on any given day. Give the Rangers keeper a shot, I say. I’m no fan of his club, but he’s good enough, and though Holland is going to be a rough way to start, if he survives it, he will cement that #1 onto his back. I feel for Gordon, who I like a lot, but that’s football.

Mon the Scots.

Squad for Holland and Iceland

Ian Rose — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 01:48:51 +0000

Yesterday, we had the squads for the U-21 Euro qualifiers – now, here’s the one for the big show, the two World Cup qualifiers with Holland and Iceland. The big news is the return of Alan Hutton, who has been sorely missed in the defense. Iwelumo is back, for another chance, and let’s hope he can bury it this time. It’s a relatively healthy squad, as long as the Old Firm players don’t come up lame with fake injuries. So, we’ll see. Hopefully Christophe Berra’s time at Wolves is helping his development, because the central defense could use a backup to McManus and Caldwell. All in all, a strong squad. I for one am glad to see John Fleck on the U-21 squad and not the senior one. I have a lot of faith that we’ll see him in a Scotland shirt soon, but 17 is a little young, and I don’t think he’s at that level yet. This is a squad that can certainly beat Iceland at Hampden, which really is more important than anything we do against Holland, because we are likely playing for second in this group. But we should own that second place, and hopefully, on the backs of the following, we will:

Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Sunderland), Allan McGregor (Rangers), David Marshall (Norwich City)

Defenders: Graham Alexander (Burnley), Darren Barr (Falkirk), Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Kirk Broadfoot (Rangers), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie McAllister (Bristol City), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United), David Weir (Rangers)

Midfield: Scott Brown (Celtic), Kris Commons (Derby County), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Darren Fletcher (Manchester United), Paul Hartley (Celtic), James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion), Gavin Rae (Cardiff City), Gary Teale (Derby County)

Forwards: David Clarkson (Motherwell), Steven Fletcher (Hibernian), Chris Iwelumo (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Ross McCormack (Cardiff City), Kenny Miller (Rangers)

U-21 Squad Announced

Ian Rose — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:03:21 +0000

As Scotland prepares for vital World Cup qualifying matches against Holland and Iceland, we shouldn’t forget about the future either. The U-21 team begins qualification for the 2011 U-21 European Championships with a home-and-home with Albania. And, just to assure that the youth game has no audience whatsoever, the matches are the exact same dates as the senior ones … 28 March and 1 April. Makes no sense whatsoever to me (why not play on Sunday?), but alas, my powers over international scheduling are at the moment limited. Scotland U-21 hopes to achieve what they haven’t since 1996, and qualify as one of the eight European finalists. That was the year that we went all the way to the semis and lost to Spain (with Raul at striker). We start this campaign hopeful, and here are the boys that will try to bring us there:

Goalkeepers

Jamie Barclay – Falkirk on loan to Berwick Rangers
Scott Gallacher – Rangers
Alan Martin – Leeds United on loan to Barrow AFC

Defenders

Paul Caddis – Celtic on loan to Dundee United
Brian Easton – Hamilton Academical
Paul Hanlon – Hibernian
Jason Marr – Celtic
Chris Mitchell – Falkirk
Thomas Scobbie – Falkirk

Midfielders

Scott Arfield – Falkirk
Barry Bannan – Aston Villa
John Fleck – Rangers
Kevin McDonald – Burnley
Stephen McGinn – St. Mirren
Andrew Shinnie – Rangers on loan to Dundee
Lewis Stevenson – Hibernian

Forwards

David Goodwillie – Dundee United
Rory Loy – Rangers on loan to Dunfermline Athletic
Chris Maguire – Aberdeen
Jamie Murphy – Motherwell

(list shamefully and lazily copied, with great appreciation, from ScottishFA.co.uk

Two weeeeeks …

Ian Rose — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 22:07:52 +0000

God I love that movie. Anyway, the relevance of that clip, thin as it may be, is that in two weeks, Scotland is finally, FINALLY back in action, in the toughest World Qualifier of the whole campaign, away against the Netherlands. Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Saar (who apparently CAN be scored on), and the rest of the Oranje boys will be the sternest test of the qualifiers, and if we can manage even a point, it will go miles toward our quest for at least second place in the group, and a playoff for South Africa.

More later this week on this very big match. And huge apologies for my absence. It’s been a long, strange break from international football, with Scotland not playing together for months, and I’ve been distracted by the relegation fight of my club, Caley Thistle. But the Scotland WCB is back, and I’ll try to be better.

Mon the Scots.

Scotland v Argentina Friendly Preview

Ian Rose — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:19:09 +0000

The Squad:
Keepers: Allan McGregor (Rangers), David Marshall (Norwich City)
Defenders: Graham Alexander (Burnley), Darren Barr (Falkirk), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Kirk Broadfoot (Rangers), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Alan Hutton (Spurs), Jamie McAllister (Bristol City), Stephen McManus (Celtic), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United)
Midfield: Scott Brown (Celtic), Kris Commons (Derby), Barry Ferguson (Rangers), Paul Hartley (Celtic), Scott Robertson (Dundee United), Barry Robson (Celtic)
Forwards: David Clarkson (Motherwell), Chris Iwelumo (Wolves), Shaun Maloney (Celtic), Lee Miller (Aberdeen), James McFadden (Birmingham)

These are the boys that will face off with Argentina today. A few surprises here – to me, the biggest is the distribution of position players. Only six midfielders? Five forwards? I understand that one miss is only just that, but in the broad view of things, is giving Chris Iwelumo another chance really worth the trade of having possibly only one bench player at midfield? Obviously, the return to health of Alan Hutton and James McFadden is fantastic to see. Two of the best and most loved Scots in years, and we sorely missed them. The return of captain Barry Ferguson, if he’s truly back to form, is also welcome. Another surprise, this one a happy one – the debut of Scott Robertson. Dundee United have been a class side in Scotland this season, and Robertson has earned this spot. It’s nice to see Burley looking outside the Old Firm, but still within the SPL, a bit more. It gives me hope some day of a Don Cowie call-up. But that’s another matter. With the aforementioned thin state of the midfield roster, he should get his cap.

No way around it – it’s going to be a tough ask to take much from this match. Scotland is a bit beaten up (when are we not?), and Argentina is (Messi or not), one of the best sides in international football. After this match, there’s a long, long break until March, when the toughest match of our World Cup qualifying group comes around – the trip to Holland. Frankly, that, like this, is a bit of a bonus match. Anything we take from it will be a happy surprise, and we can live without a result.

Still, with Maradona on the touchline, and a stadium full of Scots chanting, it will be a great night. One of the greatest sides in the game (sadly not the home side) in one of the greatest atmospheres in the world. Mon the Scots.

Nacho for Scotland?

Ian Rose — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 03:14:00 +0000

It’s been a long silence for the Scotland WCB. Since that incredible miss which will never be mentioned again in this blog, I’ve been in a bit of a stupor, and frankly, have survived by burying myself in club matters. Still, this is a story that needs to be dealt with.

Nacho Novo (of Rangers) was born in Spain but has lived in Scotland for eight years, since signing for Raith Rovers. He loves Scotland, he has no intention of leaving, and now he claims that if he applied for British citizenship, was accepted, and was asked, he would play for Scotland.

Interesting. I honestly can’t decide how I feel about this. From a pure footballing standpoint, we could use him. He would help the cause, especially with the notable … hard to avoid the word betrayal here … difference of opinion … of Kris Boyd. Still, a naturalized player from outside of Britain is a pretty unknown thing in Scotland. Do we just admit that this is the way international football is now, and take him up on it, or do we stick to our guns, and possibly give up a chance at the big stage?

If I have to pick a side, I guess I land on the side of tired provincialism. Something about this doesn’t seem right. I don’t think that a player should ever be restricted from playing wherever his or her skills allow at the club level … but international football is different. It’s not just about citizenship – it’s about a shared heritage and history. If Nacho Novo truly thinks of himself as a Scot, rather than a Spaniard, perhaps this is alright, and to his credit, he has said that he wants to cause no trouble … he just wants a chance to play.

It’s hard to make this argument without sounding old-fashioned, but really, that’s what international football is – it’s old-fashioned. Maybe that’s why it’s so endangered. We’ll certainly keep an eye on where this ends up, and at any rate, for the offer, Nacho, thanks.

Macedonia 1-0 Scotland: A poor, poor start

Ian Rose — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:31:15 +0000

The Scots’ World Cup qualifying campaign started with a whimper rather than a bang today, as we went down 1-0 to Macedonia. It was frankly a deserved result for the Macedonians, who are turning out in recent years to be a bit of a super-minnow. This is the side that beat Croatia and drew with England in the Euro qualifiers, and we would have been foolish to underestimate them. Still, they were beatable on the day if Scotland would have stepped up to the challenge. We did not, and now any advantage we gained by being a second rather than third seed may be gone.

The goal came by way of an early free kick deflection by Ilčo Naumoski. It was just one of many, many defensive errors by the Scotland back line, and the end result could have been far worse. The midfield lacked any edge, the defense was (admittedly injured but) shaky. James McFadden once again tried to play hero man, and wasn’t far off, but couldn’t quite close the deal.

In this qualifying group in particular, the margin of error is very small. There are only eight matches in the group, only 24 points up for grabs for each team. George Burley, who came in with great expectations but has fallen instead on hard times (Dickens references for the win), predicted we needed 17 points to be sure of qualifying. That is now 17 out of 21 instead of 24.

What all this means is that already, so early in the campaign, the results of other sides in the group become extremely important to us. It’s too early to say that we need help to qualify, but it’s not far from being true. As I write this article, Norway and Iceland are tied at 0-0 after about a half-hour of play. Norway just barely missed out on Euro 2008 qualification, like us, and will be shooting for a high finish in the group, so without being unfair to Iceland, a win for Iceland or a draw would be the best result for us, and either way, we really need to take points from our Wednesday trip to face the Icelanders.