Scotland v Belarus: Clarke to enjoy historic match | OneFootball

Great escape has kept Clarke in the hunt

For most of Thursday night's game against Greece at Hampden Park, Scotland were second best, and it was no surprise whatsoever when they went behind just past the hour mark. The atmosphere was febrile, with boos aplenty, and a repeat of Greece's 3-0 win in Glasgow in the Nations League looked to be on the cards.

However, football can be delightfully senseless and chaotic sometimes, and Scotland scored a pair of incredibly messy set-piece goals, before an horrendous error from Greece keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis gifted a third to Lyndon Dykes in stoppage time. Steve Clarke admitted afterwards that his team perhaps got more than they deserved, but praised them for digging in during tough periods of the match, and finding a way to take the three points.

Clarke will make history on Sunday, as he will take charge of his 72nd Scotland game, breaking the record previously held by the late, great Craig Brown. Clarke has been in charge since 2019, and has led the Tartan Army to two European Championship finals, but he says he'll only reflect upon his achievements once he retires. One thing he has pointed out is how much he trusts his players, and how they have consistently worked hard on his behalf.

If Scotland win on Sunday and Greece lose in Denmark, Scotland will have at least guaranteed a playoff spot. Two of their goalscorers against Greece, Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie, are both suspended. Brentford full-back Aaron Hickey is struggling with a knee injury. Despite scoring against Greece, Lyndon Dykes is expected to once again be a substitute, with Che Adams keeping his place.

Belarus aiming for damage limitation

No-one was reasonably expecting Belarus to qualify for the World Cup finals, not least because their government's tacit support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine means they can't play home games in their own country. Their recent Nations League C campaign was at least respectable, with just one defeat, four draws and a solitary victory.

These qualifiers have been a disaster. A 5-1 demolition at the hands of Greece made for a poor start, before a 2-0 loss to Scotland in Hungary. In their most recent "home" game, Belarus were smashed 6-0 and gave up 24 shots, 11 of which were on target.

Spanish coach Carlos Alos has been in charge since August 2023, and has won just six of his 23 games. Some of those have been friendlies against the likes of Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, and there's little to suggest they can cause an upset here. Their last competitive win was against Luxembourg in September 2024, and the last time they truly caused a surprise was when they won a friendly in Bulgaria five years ago.

Scotland must improve, but should win with room to spare

Scotland beat Belarus 2-0 in their last meeting, and after a huge let-off against Greece, I think they can secure a comfortable victory on Sunday evening. Belarus have an awful recent record, and are by some distance the weakest team in this section.

We can back Scotland -1 on the Handicap and Scott McTominay to score at 21/20 on the Sportsbook's Bet Builder. McTominay had an ineffective game against Greece, with no shots, but he's still had an effort on target in nine of his last 11 internationals. The Napoli box-crasher scored on the opening day of the Serie A season, and he was prolific towards the end of last term.

Another option is to back Scotland to have eight shots on target at 2/1. They had eight against Belarus in the reverse fixture, and Belarus gave up 11 against Denmark and a staggering 14 against Greece.

Now read Joe Dyer's stats-based bets for Scotland v Belarus.