Team Changes and Lineups
Scotland have made five changes to the squad that secured a victory against Denmark last November. Angus Gunn, Nathan Patterson, Jack Hendry, Tommy Conway, and midfielder Kenny McLean replace John Souttar and Ryan Christie, who are now on the bench, as well as the absent Craig Gordon, Aaron Hickey, and Ben Gannon-Doak. Middlesbrough forward Tommy Conway returns to the lineup after missing the entire qualification campaign. Additionally, the promising 19-year-old striker Findlay Curtis, currently on loan at Kilmarnock from Rangers, is aiming to make his debut.
The Scotland starting eleven is: Gunn, Patterson, Robertson, McTominay, McGinn, Dykes, Hendry, Ferguson, Conway, McLean, McKenna. The substitutes include Kelly, Bain, Hanley, Tierney, Gilmour, Adams, Christie, Miller, Souttar, McCrorie, Hyam, Hirst, Ralston, Irving, and Curtis.
Japan's starting lineup features Zion Suzuki, Seko, Watanabe, Hiroki Ito, Sugawara, Fujita, Tanaka, Maeda, Yuito Suzuki, Kodai Sano, and Goto. Their substitutes are Hayakawa, Osako, Taniguchi, Hashioka, Junnosuke Suzuki, Kaishu Sano, Junya Ito, Doan, Mitoma, Kamada, Nakamura, Ueda, Ogawa, Shiogai, and Machino.
Match Context and Kick-Off
Reflecting on the events from four months ago, anticipation builds as the teams prepare for this friendly encounter. With the FIFA World Cup approaching in three months, ending a 28-year wait for Scotland to participate, preparations are underway. The match kicks off at 5pm GMT.
It’s on!
