Belarus v Scotland: Back in-form McTominay to hit the net | OneFootball

Belarus v ScotlandLive on BBCi

Scotland made a fine start to their World Cup qualifying campaign as they ground out a goalless draw in Denmark. Keeper Angus Gunn belied his lack of action at club level by looking razor-sharp to deny Rasmus Hojlund, and Scotland defended diligently. However, Steve Clarke's men also carved out chances themselves - they racked up 11 goal attempts from just 26% possession.

Ryan Christie planted a tame header wide, Scott McTominay tested Kasper Schmeichel after a slaloming run, and Lyndon Dykes spurned a good opportunity by not hitting a first-time finish when in space.

This was a feather in the cap of manager Clarke, who it should be remembered has delivered back-to-back European Championship qualifications. A 4-4-2 formation gave Denmark very little room to play through, and Scotland offered a threat at the other end. The return of injury-hit full-back Aaron Hickey was a big boost, and on the other side of the back four skipper Andy Robertson was typically reliable.

Now Scotland face a game they must win, instead of one where they have to grind out a result. As our colleague Mike Norman has pointed out in his Opta preview of this game, tonight's opponents Belarus have lost all but one of their last 13 World Cup qualifiers, including a recent 5-1 hammering in Greece at the start of this campaign.

In the recent Nations League, Belarus won just one of their six matches (a 1-0 victory in Luxembourg), and they managed just three goals in those games. They haven't managed a competitive victory on home soil since a 1-0 success against Andorra in November 2023.

I want to back the visitors here, and I'll do it by backing Scott McTominay to score at 2.9. The reigning Serie A Most Valuable Player was always looking to burst into the box against Denmark, and he once again landed the combination of two shots and one on target, something he has done in eight of his last 11 competitive internationals. Given that McTominay scored 12 Serie A goals last season and has already netted this term, 2.9 seems generous in a game Scotland should win. He also scored in recent Scotland games in Greece and Portugal.