Home    World     Europe     Scotland  
Flag Scotland

Scotland

Netherlands 3-0 Scotland

By: Ian Rose | March 29th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Really, not far from the expected result. There were some questionable referee decisions, but it would be wrong to say they cost us the game. We were outplayed, barely had a chance at the Dutch goal, etc etc. To be honest, with the crap stream I watched the match on (late, since I had a game of my own to play in), I can’t give a definitive answer on whether Caldwell’s goal should have stood, and when I can’t definitely argue with it, I tend to go with the ref’s decision. Even a ref that the French won’t even allow to officiate league games, and therefore has no place reffing a World Cup qualifier. Nice to see Kenny Miller get a shot on frame, but the fact is that three shots, one on target, was never going to be nearly enough against an offensive powerhouse like the Dutch.

Moving on. The match Wednesday is, realistically, the one that matters. Holland owns this group, and I conceded that basically when the draw was made. But Scotland should be the second-strongest team here, and anything less than a second-place finish, and a playoff for qualification, should frankly be George Burley’s head. That penalty goal for Holland might have been meaningless for the result of this game, but it was very meaningful in terms of putting Scotland behind Iceland on goal differential, and knocking us out of the second position. On Wednesday, in Glasgow, we need to beat Iceland, and if we can’t, we don’t deserve to go to South Africa.

As far as squad changes, it’s hard to say. Christophe Berra was clearly overcome by the challenge of opening his international career against Holland, and to be fair it was a bit of a harsh way to get his first start. Iceland would have been a far kinder way to start. Alan Hutton made an appearance, against expectations, and I hope he’ll be closer to form on Wednesday. In general, our back line was weak, and set the tone for a disappointing day. We won’t face this kind of quality on Wednesday, but we still have to better, and more solid, to get all the points safely and take that second-place spot. The danger man to watch will be Eiður Guðjohnsen , though with no Icelander scoring more than one goal from open play so far in the qualifiers, that’s a bit speculative.

Mon the Scots.


Tags: 28 March 2009, Away, Match report, Netherlands, World Cup qualifying

More Scotland World Cup News

Another bloody squad post: Holland

By: Ian Rose | March 21st, 2009 | 8 Comments »

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 ... [read]


Holland v Scotland: The Keeper Situation

By: Ian Rose | March 18th, 2009 | No Comments »

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 ... [read]


Squad for Holland and Iceland

By: Ian Rose | March 17th, 2009 | No Comments »

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 ... [read]


U-21 Squad Announced

By: Ian Rose | March 16th, 2009 | No Comments »

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 ... [read]


Two weeeeeks …

By: Ian Rose | March 14th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

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 ... [read]


Scotland v Argentina Friendly Preview

By: Ian Rose | November 18th, 2008 | No Comments »

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), ... [read]


UK Olympic Football: My Vote is for Playoffs

By: Ian Rose | November 9th, 2008 | 4 Comments »

… and apparently, David Cameron agrees. Usually, those three words would make me rethink any position on any issue, but since the idea was first brought up, I believed it to be the best solution to the incredibly tricky issue of what to do about football in London 2012.
Let me add that I agree with the SFA on this: ... [read]


Nacho for Scotland?

By: Ian Rose | October 27th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

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 ... [read]


Squad for 11 Oct Qualifier with Norway

By: Ian Rose | October 5th, 2008 | 2 Comments »

Here is George Burley’s squad for Saturday’s matchup with Norway. More on this match as it gets closer.
Keepers:
Craig Gordon (Sunderland), David Marshall (Norwich), Allan McGregor (Rangers)
Defenders:
Graham Alexander (Burnley), Darren Barr (Falkirk), Christophe Berra (Hearts), Kirk Broadfoot (Rangers), Gary Caldwell (Celtic), Jamie McAllister (Bristol City), Gary Naysmith (Sheffield United), Davie Weir (Rangers)
Midfield:
Scott Brown (Celtic), Kris Commons (Derby), Darren Fletcher (Man ... [read]



Scotland RSS Feed
Like Scotland soccer news? Subscribe to the Scotland World Cup RSS feed , or get email updates by entering your address below and let us tell you when there's something new.


Latest Comments

 
Go to WCB Homepage




Scotland Club Football News

Categories

More Europe Blogs

Monthly Archives

closer

© BootsnAll Travel

Write for WCB | About WCB | FAQ | Advertise | Privacy Policy | Top of page ^

World Cup Blog