The 1998 World Cup was the last time that Scotland appeared on a global stage, although it could be that 2022 sees the Tartan Army descend on Qatar, with this being the first winter tournament in the history of football. There’s an extra carrot in the form of England being in the group that the Scots have been drawn in.

However, there’s a mountain to climb considering that the Scots need to overcome Ukraine on 1 June before travelling to the Cardiff City Stadium on 5 June for a potential Home Nations clash against a Wales side who have been patiently waiting for their chance to stake a claim to play England, Iran and USA at the World Cup.

Scotland had a respectable seven wins and two draws from their ten group games played, with the bulk of the team’s quality being in the defensive and midfield areas. Andy Robertson is the captain and one of the few world-class players in the ranks, while John McGinn is the hard-working ball-winner in the middle of the park.

Can Ukraine Produce an Emotional Win at Hampden?

There’s little doubt that there will be plenty of emotion before kick-off considering that the Ukraine players have the chance to come together and put on a strong showing for their war-torn nation. Shevchenko will call for cool heads as the players aim to win the first of two scheduled games in the UK.

Incredibly, the Ukrainians drew six of their eight qualifying games to finish second behind France, with victory being achieved in the other two encounters. They were a low-scoring side with eleven but only conceded eight overall.

There has been a training camp in Slovenia where the squad have gathered and that includes Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko and Everton’s Vitaliy Mykolenko. There is an experienced keeper in the form of Andriy Pyatov along with West Ham’s Andriy Yarmolenko.

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