sports
Passive Scotland’s World Cup preparations hit by late defeat against Japan
Scotland’s followers have discovered there is a drawback to World Cup qualification after all. Nobody who paid – and handsomely – to sit through the sheer tedium of this fixture could reasonably deny that. Yes, Scotland, you can come to the party; but only after a clutch of international friendlies. It is just about worth the trade-off.
TL;DR
- Scotland lost a friendly match to Japan as part of their World Cup buildup.
- The game was described as tedious, lacking intensity and with Scotland being passive.
- Junya Ito scored the winning goal for Japan.
- Scotland manager Steve Clarke expressed disappointment with the home support booing the team off.
- Scotland has not won a home friendly since March 2016.
- Clarke plans to make significant changes for the next friendly against Côte d'Ivoire.
- Players like Scott McTominay showed glimpses of quality, but the team struggled overall.
- Concerns remain about Scotland's attacking options, with Lyndon Dykes receiving limited service.
- The team aims to carry momentum into the World Cup, making it important not to disregard games like this.
- Japan's Daizen Maeda, despite starting and captaining, appeared low on confidence.
- John McGinn was described as anonymous for Scotland.
- Late chances were created by George Hirst for Scotland and by Japan, culminating in Ito's goal.