Scotland Men's Football Team

Image source, PA Media

One game down. At least two to go. And so many questions.

As Scotland get set to face Morocco, we put your questions to Leanne Crichton on the BBC Scottish Football YouTube channel.

Would you go with the same team as started against Haiti in the game with Morocco?

There won't be wholesale changes. There never is regards to Steve Clarke and his teams. The two strikers against Haiti [Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams] was the one thing we all wanted.

There was probably real pros and cons to it and a lot of the cons, in my opinion, were down to just our ability on the ball. I don't necessarily think it was a system problem.

Morocco and Brazil were always going to be different games, so I don't envisage the same shape. I would be really surprised if it was the same line-up, I definitely think one of the strikers will miss out.

Do you think Steve Clarke will drop Lawrence Shankland and play Che Adams as a lone striker to get a point against Morocco?

I'm unsure as to who Steve will look to, I don't think it'll be Shankland. It's about managing expectations between games one and two and probably knowing how much time you spend without the ball.

For Lawrence, it will be a case of if we're still in the game he can be an impact sub, I could be wrong, but probably just looking as I'm saying, maybe it points to us being a bit more direct.

I still think Adams is really good at what he does, in addition to his energy. His movement the other night was really good in terms of freeing up Shankland and stretching the game.

Is Billy Gilmour a bigger miss than we imagined?

Gilmour was always going to be a miss. For me it's huge, if you're a goalkeeper or a defender, you need someone like Gilmour looking at you, that willingness and that trust, taking the ball anywhere, that's what Gilmour does and he does it really well.

He plays off the one and two touch really nicely and knows how to attract pressure. In the Haiti game beyond probably 25 minutes, I think they reacted to how we were building the game and made it much more difficult with the ball.

Can we live without Gilmour? Absolutely. You look at some point at Tyler Fletcher, because the reason he's been brought here is because in the small glimpses that we've seen and the quality that he has, he's deemed to be good enough to get in there and play and replace Billy Gilmour.

If you've overlooked the likes of Lennon Miller, you've not gone back to players that are tried and tested, so could that be the golden nugget that we see again in terms of using the ball?

Steven Godden
BBC Scotland in Boston

Former Scotland right-back Steve Nicol believes the current squad can make history and "shut people up" by getting out the group stages of the World Cup.

Nicol was part of the Scotland squad drawn in the so-called "group of death" during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.

He's confident Scotland can get the point they need in their second group game against Morocco on Friday to cement Steve Clarke's side in the history books.

"We're capable of it and it takes it somewhere we've never been before. It would be fantastic to shut people up and finally get out of the group stages," said Nicol.

"At the end of the day we all want to play in a World Cup, but we play to win and when you win it changes everything."

The 64-year-old, originally Troon, has lived in America for almost three decades as a footballer, coach and now pundit for the sport.

He warns the heat and humidity in Miami will be the biggest challenge for Scotland when they take on Brazil later this month.

Having played in similar conditions in Mexico, he added: "I remember against West Germany we went into the dressing room and there were six or seven oxygen masks on the wall and we were all clambering over each other to get to one."

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• Scotland and Morocco's only previous encounter was in the group stages of the 1998 World Cup – Morocco won 3-0, their largest World Cup victory to date.

• Nine of Morocco's past 12 World Cup matches have come against European teams. In fact, no side has played as many matches in the tournament against European opposition since the 2018 tournament as Morocco.

• Morocco have lost only one of their past six World Cup group matches against European opposition (W2 D3) – a 1-0 defeat against Portugal in 2018.

• Following their 1-0 win over Haiti, Scotland are looking to win consecutive games in a single major tournament for the first time. The Scots have never won more than one game in a single tournament.

• Morocco are unbeaten in five group-stage matches at the World Cup (W2 D3), the joint best run by an African nation; Cameroon were unbeaten in five between 1982 and 1990 and Senegal had five unbeaten group games between 2002 and 2018.

• Scotland have won eight of their past 11 competitive matches (D1 L2), including five of their latest six (L1). The only side to beat them in this run is Greece, who won 3-0 in the Nations League in March 2025 and 3-2 in a World Cup qualifier in November 2025.

• Morocco completed 123 passes in the final third against Brazil on matchday one, the most of any side in Group C in the opening round of games and Morocco's most ever in a World Cup match.

Image source, PA Media

Charlie Adam believes the nature of Friday's World Cup Group C game against Morocco may be to Scotland's advantage.

"This game will suit Scotland, we'll be able to counter-attack quickly and not have as much possession but hopefully be able to hurt them in different areas," the former Scotland midfielder told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"We're going to need [Ben Gannon-Doak] on that counter attack, we are going to need his pace, his power. We might look to try and play maybe an extra midfielder in there and only play one up front."

Former Scotland goalkeeper Gemma Fay agrees: "We like being the underdogs. I don't think that fazes us too much. [Steve Clarke's] probably got something tucked up his sleeve somewhere.

"All we need is a point. And by hook or by crook or off John McGinn's backside. However it happens, we don't care."

John Collins, who played at Scotland men's last World Cup in 1998, believes the selection up front is the key issue for head coach Steve Clarke.

"The question for the manager tonight is who he plays up front and Stevie, it's a big one," Collins said.

"Lawrence Shankland can drop out. Does he start with Che Adams, who gives you more mobility, can hold the ball up better, or does he go for Lyndon Dykes, who's good in the air, he can win flick-ons?

"I really hope he doesn't go for the back five and bring another central defender in. I hope he stays with the back four."

Scotland's only previous meeting with Morocco came at the 1998 World Cup where a 3-0 defeat consigned Craig Brown's side to a group-stage exit. Will Steve Clarke's crop of 2026 fare better tonight?

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Scott Allan takes encouragement from some other lesser-fancied nations' performances at the World Cup before Scotland's crucial Group C match with Morocco.

The Scots are two points better off than Morocco before Friday's meeting (23:00 BST) after the opening round of fixtures and one more point is likely to be enough for a place in the last 32.

Morocco are sixth in the world rankings - 31 places above Scotland - and former Celtic and Hibs midfielder Allan feels the Scots are in for a tough match.

"I'm a wee bit more uplifted by the fact I've seen teams like DR Congo and Cape Verde against some real top-class opposition, how defensively disciplined they were and managed to get a point," Allan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"I'm looking at Scotland thinking that is probably the best way of getting a result. There's no getting away that Morocco have some real quality throughout their team. They've got pace, they've got energy and they've certainly got quality.

"Tonight's going to be all about a real strong disciplined performing for Scotland and if we do create a chance, can we take it? But I'm a bit more uplifted than I was maybe after the Haiti game just by seeing how some of the smaller nations have performed against better opposition.

"It'll be nerve-stricken because I think that's just the Scottish way, isn't it? We'll need a full 11 players absolutely at it.

"We'll be relying on the goalkeeper making saves at times, clearances, and, to be fair in the Haiti game I thought we defended well, especially that back five with the goalkeeper included. I just hope we can be a lot better on the ball. That was the key takeaway for me against Haiti.

"If you give the ball away as loosely as you did against them against Morocco, then ultimately you're going to give chances away against better opposition."