Scotland continue their Euro 2020 preparations as they visit Luxembourg at Stade Josy Barthel, Belair, in an international friendly.
This match represents one final chance for Steve Clarke to assess his Scotland squad ahead of their Euro 2020 campaign, whereas Luxembourg look to build some momentum ahead of their World Cup qualifiers this Autumn.
Team News
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Luxembourg have no fresh injury concerns to report following a 1-0 midweek friendly loss against Norway in Spain.
Scotland have no fresh injury concerns to report as John Fleck again misses out following a positive Coronavirus test.
Stat Attack
- Luxembourg have lost both of their two previous home friendlies against Scotland (L2), conceding eight goals and scoring once.
- Scotland are yet to lose to Luxembourg in all competitions (W3, D1), whilst keeping clean sheets in three of four clashes.
- Luxembourg’s last two goals have been scored by Gerson Rodrigues, as they defeated Republic of Ireland in March before losing 3-1 to Portugal days later.
- Scotland have lost just twice this decade in 11 games across all competitions (W4, D6, L2).
Prediction
Luxembourg shouldn’t feel too disappointed by their performance against Norway because they did an excellent job of containing a quality Norwegian team featuring players like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard and have certainly caused issues for their opposition in 2021 so far.
Scotland therefore cannot afford to underestimate Luxembourg but having weathered a difficult friendly against Netherlands with a disciplined display despite twice conceding from in front, I expect to see them build on the positives here and cut out their defensive mistakes if want to enter the Euros on a high.
Pace in Scotland’s passing play though is my main concern because they just seemed to often lack swift aggression to their passing in midweek, which I feel could cost them in the Euros if they come up against a fast tempo team who pass the ball with high energy and are very creative in their play.
I therefore do expect to see Steve Clarke perhaps looking to experiment here with tactics in order to fully prepare his team, although Luxembourg will set out to try and frustrate them but Scotland should have enough to edge this.
Prediction: Luxembourg 0-1 Scotland
