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Venue
- Hampden Park Stadium
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Referee
- Michal Ocenas
Preview for Scotland v North Macedonia
Andy Robertson is about to join Sir Kenny Dalglish in Scotland folklore. If the captain plays against North Macedonia at Hampden Park on Friday night, he will win his 102nd cap and draw level with Dalglish’s long-standing record as the most-capped player in Scotland’s history.
Dalglish has held the record on his own for almost four decades. He won his 102 caps between 1971 and 1986, scoring 30 goals, a tally he shares with Denis Law at the top of Scotland’s scoring charts. Robertson, who made his debut in 2014, is the only other Scotland player to reach 100 caps for his country.
“I’ve always doubted myself and that’s always got the best out of me,” the Tottenham full-back told the BBC. “I’ve always tried to prove people wrong and prove myself wrong. The one thing I didn’t do was look too far ahead. I always just lived in the here and now and that’s served me well.”
If Robertson features against North Macedonia and then against Switzerland in St Gallen on Monday, he will become Scotland’s outright record appearance maker before the end of the year.
There’s plenty at stake on the pitch too. Scotland are third in Nations League Group B1 with four points, three behind second-placed Slovenia in the promotion play-off place, while Switzerland have the group won. Sebastian Pocognoli’s side lost both of their home group games, against Switzerland and Slovenia, and the head coach is still waiting for his first win at Hampden.
Their only victory of the campaign came in Skopje in October, when they beat North Macedonia 2-0.
North Macedonia are in crisis. Goce Sedloski’s side have lost all four of their Nations League games without scoring, and they are on a 12-game winless run in all competitions. They have failed to score in each of their last eight matches, and anything less than a win would condemn them to the relegation play-offs.
The Nations League Table
League B – Group A
- Position 1 : Promotion
- Position 2 : Promotion Play-offs
- Position 4 : Relegation Playoffs
Team News for Scotland v North Macedonia
The big news for Scotland is the return of Scott McTominay. The midfielder missed the first four Nations League games after undergoing heart surgery.
Kieran Tierney and Che Adams are also back but defenders Stephen Welsh and Luis Binks have withdrawn, leading to call-ups for Ryan Porteous and David Bates.
North Macedonia have no reported injury problems. Captain Enis Bardhi and Eljif Elmas will be key in midfield.
Expected line-ups for Scotland v North Macedonia
Scotland: Gunn; Hickey, Hendry, Tierney; Gannon-Doak, Robertson, Gilmour, Ferguson; McToninay, McGinn, McBurnie
North Macedonia: Dimitrievski; Ilievski, Meljichi, Misliu, Alioski; Elmas, Atanasov, Mitrovski, Bardhi, Doriev; Rastoder
Recent Form for Scotland v North Macedonia
Recent Results : Scotland
Recent Results : FYR Macedonia
Where to Watch Scotland v North Macedonia: TV and online streams
Scotland versus North Macedonia kicks off at 7:45pm GMT on Friday, November 13 at Hampden Park.
The match is live on the BBC in the UK.
Prediction for Scotland v North Macedonia
This is a must-win for Scotland and, given the strength of opposition, it looks a home banker. Macedonia don’t possess players with the quality of Robertson, McTominay or John McGinn.
Scotland
2 – 0
FYR Macedonia
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
