Scotland and Japan meet in a friendly in Glasgow this weekend as both nations prepare for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America.
The Scots have not beaten the Samurai Blue in three previous meetings, drawing twice and losing once. In fact, they have never even scored against them, which is the most times they have faced an opponent without scoring in their history.
Steve Clarke’s side are in good form, having won eight of their last 12 matches, but the visitors are looking to extend their three-match winning streak and have only lost one of their previous ten games.
Scotland vs Japan – Match preview and team news
- Date: Saturday, 28th March
- Kick-off: 5pm BST
- Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow
Scotland team news
Clarke has named a 26-man squad for Scotland’s March camp, with the biggest boosts coming from the returns of Billy Gilmour, Lennon Miller, John McGinn and Scott McTominay.
Uncapped winger Findlay Curtis has also been included, while Tommy Conway is included in the squad as well.
While the squad is strengthened by the recalls of Nathan Patterson and Ross McCrorie, Scotland is still missing key defenders Aaron Hickey and Craig Gordon, as well as forward Lawrence Shankland.
That makes this a useful opportunity for Clarke to assess fringe players before final World Cup selection, a point the head coach stressed when he said he still had players he wanted to evaluate and that “a lot can shift” before the final squad is chosen.
Japan team news
Hajime Moriyasu has used this window to continue refining his squad. Their biggest recent setback is the withdrawal of Takehiro Tomiyasu, who has pulled out of the camp due to injury, meaning he will miss both the Scotland and England friendlies.
The visitors will be without captain Wataru Endo, who is recovering from ankle surgery, and will also miss the creative spark of Takefusa Kubo and Takumi Minamino due to injury.
Ko Itakura also misses out. However, Brighton star Kaoru Mitoma remains their primary attacking threat, and Celtic’s Daizen Maeda is expected to feature prominently in a stadium he knows well.
In goal, Zion Suzuki returns to the squad after recovering from a hand injury, offering Japan a reliable presence between the posts for this high-profile friendly.
Form
Scotland: WWWLW
Scotland entered this camp full of momentum from their qualification run, including the dramatic win over Denmark that secured their place at the World Cup. Clarke’s men defeated Denmark with goals from Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean during the injury time, which eventually helped them overtake Denmark and qualify directly for the World Cup.
Japan: LDWWW
Japan are also in excellent shape, with their qualifying campaign marked by consistency, control and a strong attacking output. They have won seven of their 10 group matches overall and scored freely in recent friendlies, which is a warning sign for any opponent facing their quick-passing style.
A huge 3-2 win over Brazil was the first of three victories on the spin, beating Ghana and Bolivia in their most recent outings.
Predicted lineups
Scotland: Gunn; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Ferguson, Gilmour; McGinn, McTominay, Christie; Adams
Japan: Z. Suzuki; Watanabe, J. Suzuki, Taniguchi; Doan, Sano, Kamada, Nakamura; Mitoma; Maeda, Ueda
How to watch Scotland vs Japan?
The match will be broadcast live in the UK on BBC One Scotland, BBC Sport and the BBC iPlayer.
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