Scotland vs Belarus Match Preview
World Cup qualification remains highly likely for Scotland as they prepare to host Belarus at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Steve Clarke’s side came from behind to beat Greece 3-1 on Thursday, maintaining their unbeaten qualifying campaign and boosting their hopes of reaching a first World Cup finals in 28 years.
After three games, Clarke’s side are level on points with group leaders Denmark and four points ahead of Greece.
A victory against Belarus, coupled with a defeat for Greece in Copenhagen, would guarantee Scotland at least a play-off place.
The visitors will, however, expect a much improved performance following their 6-0 defeat to Denmark.
Scotland vs Belarus team news
Clarke will be forced to make at least some changes for Sunday’s clash. Goalscorers Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie will both be suspended, while Aaron Hickey has a knee injury and looks doubtful.
Anthony Ralston could replace Hickey, while Billy Gilmour could return to midfield from the start.
Meanwhile, Belarus coach Carlos Alos could turn things around after his team lost to Denmark.
Expected line-ups between Scotland and Belarus
Scotland: Gunn; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; McGinn, McTominay, Doak; Adams
Belarus: Pavlyuchenko; Karpovich, Parkhomenko, Zabelin, Volkov, Pyachenin; Myakish, Kalinin, Ebong; Melnichenko, Barkovski
Scotland vs Belarus Statistics
- Scotland are unbeaten in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup so far, with two wins and one draw. If they avoid defeat against Belarus, it would be the first time they have not suffered a defeat in the first four matches of a qualifying campaign since the 2002 World Cup campaign, when they won the first six.
- This will be Steve Clarke’s 72nd match in charge of Scotland, the greatest match ever won by a manager in their history. The victory would be his 32nd victory and would tie him with Craig Brown for the most victories in national team history.
- Scotland are unbeaten in their last 12 World Cup qualifying home matches.
- Belarus’ 6-0 loss to Denmark on Thursday was the second heaviest in its history after the 8-0 loss to Belgium in 2021.
- Scotland have won three of their previous five meetings against Belarus.
- This will be Belarus’ third trip against Scotland. The first took place in September 1997 (4-1 defeat), before winning the last 1-0 in October 2005.
How to watch Scotland vs Belarus
The match will be available in the UK on BBC Scotland, kick-off 5pm UK time.
Prediction
Building on their impressive comeback against Greece, Scotland will approach this match with confidence, knowing that qualification is still a possibility.
Anything other than a victory could prove costly for Clarke’s men, but they should have enough to meet the challenge here.
Scotland 2-0 Belarus
