We needed better. Before one of the most promising World Cup qualifying groups in decades gets underway next month, we needed to see something better from our boys today. The Irish should be content with the draw – it seems to have been their goal all along – but we should not. [...]

This is late, but better late than never, and so here’s George Burley’s squad for the last friendly before World Cup qualifiers begin, next Wednesday against Northern Ireland. There are some new faces, and some old favorites, and a few surprises, which is always good to see for a friendly before a big campaign. [...]

FIFA’s World Rankings are out today, and it’s another minor slip for the Scots, as we drop from 15th to 17th. The friendly loss to the Czechs didn’t help matters, but it really wasn’t a surprise. As much as we should still be happy to be up in the top 20 where we [...]

As promised, here’s a bit deeper of a look at today’s 3-1 loss to the Czech Republic. There are some bright points, more in fact than a look at the scoreline might suggest, but a 3-1 loss is never a net positive, and so its time to break down what went wrong, and right, [...]

I’ll have a full match report coming later. The lone Scotland goal came from David Clarkson on his international debut, but a brace from former Rangers man Libor Sionko put us away. Some bright points, some not so. More soon.

First, as much as I hate to start things off with an apology, I do regret going so long between posts. The Scotland NT is my first and foremost football loyalty, but my other blogging responsibilities (the podcast, weekend editor at The Offside, blogging Romania for the Euros, etc) have kept me pretty busy [...]

Scotland has made enormous strides in world football, but there’s always something around the corner to slap us in the face and remind us that success doesn’t come overnight. One such disappointment was last year’s U-20 World Cup in Canada, where the lads lost all three matches and finished last in Group F. [...]

On May 30th, when Scotland travels to Prague for our first away match under George Burley, there will be some new faces on the squad, thanks to a few injuries to some of our aging stars. Burley’s list of 23 includes five uncapped players, and 16 under the age of 26, a nice thing [...]

No big surprises in the FIFA World Rankings announced today. Our draw with Croatia wasn’t enough to keep up the good points average of the last year, and so we ended up losing 16 points and one place, with Ghana jumping above us. The draw hurt our March opponents even more, though, with [...]

It’s quite possibly the most under-appreciated position in football, the left back. The stars of the defense are much more often on the right or center, and yet, the left back must handle the attacking team’s right side, often their better one. In Scotland, we have our right back well and rightly sorted, [...]