Scotland vs Japan – Match preview and team news
Scotland vs Japan – Match preview and team news 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.