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22 min: Japan are beginning to dominate possession and territory. Scotland happy enough to sit back and watch them do it for now. Nothing much happening in the final third.
20 min: Seko overhits a cross from the right. Maeda waits in vain in the middle. But Japan come again, and this time Maeda gets the ball, winning a corner down the left. Sano hits the set piece long, but Scotland deal with it easily enough. Both teams showing promise in attack without quite yet catching alight.
18 min: McLean picks up possession on the halfway line. You know exactly what the crowd, almost as one, entreat him to do. I won’t insult your intelligence.
16 min: Patterson’s poor ball upfield is intercepted, and Japan counter. Scotland are fortunate that Tanaka overhits his attempt to release Ito down the left channel. Goal kick.
14 min: Hampden isn’t roaring. More of a contented rumble. That’s what slaking a 28-year thirst does.
12 min: McLean dribbles elegantly down the inside-left channel. He can shoot if he wants, and he’s within his rights. But it’s clearly not far out enough. Instead he tries to slip Dykes into the box down the channel, but the striker’s not expecting the pass. Shame, because that was a hell of a dribble. Shoot! All the time! You’re allowed. You’ve earned the right in perpetuity.
10 min: Fujita has a crack from distance. He’s aiming for the top right but his shot is too close to Gunn, who deals with the shot without fuss.
9 min: … although given what McTominay did against Denmark last November, it’s hard to begrudge the man the odd mistake.
8 min: McGinn dinks a cross in from the right. McTominay, steaming in, meets the ball six yards out, and surely must score. But he hits straight at Zion Suzuki, who sticks out a hand. A brilliant reaction stop that turns the ball onto the right-hand post and away. But he should never have been allowed to make the save. Scotland should be leading.
7 min: A few touches for Patterson out on the right flank. Not really worthy of mention in and of itself, but the BBC had Ralston in his right-back position on the pre-match graphic, so let’s clear that up.
5 min: Goto busies himself down the right this time. The ball comes into the Scotland box and Maeda takes an air-swipe at it. Scotland clear their lines.
4 min: Goto latches onto a loose ball near the centre circle, and has a go for goal, McLean having clearly set a trend. But the whistle goes for a foul earlier in the move, so it’s all in vain.
3 min: Otherwise, it’s been a fairly uneventful start. Scotland seeing a lot of the ball, as they pass it around the back.
2 min: Both men took a rare old whack there. Both are fine to continue. A friendly hand clasp after the accident. No hard feelings.
10 seconds: McGinn and Tanaka clash heads. Play stops. It was good while it lasted.
Japan get the ball rolling. Hampden roars!
The teams are out! Scotland sport their new away strip of salmon with pinstripes, sleeve/collar accents and classic trefoil. Japan are also in their change gear, an equally delicious white number with black trim and multi-coloured pinstripes: basically, what West Germany would have looked like at the 1974 World Cup had it ever stopped raining and the sun come out. We’ll be off in a minute!
Pre-match postbag. “Kenny McLean has the look of a man who knows he’ll never have to buy another pint for the rest of his life. I know the feeling, but that’s because I’m barred from most pubs in Scotland, rather than being the person who scored one of the most famous goals in Scottish football history. It’s saved me a fortune though, have you seen the price of a pint these days, people have a cheek banging on about fuel” – Simon McMahon
“Japan are playing an experimental side but Sano Kodai of Nijmegen is a player that excites the Japan support. Looking forward to the match” – Tony Mason
“Being of a certain age, I’m just not sure I’ll ever warm to chromatically coordinated crests. But salmon with pinstripes, sleeve/collar accents and a classic trefoil? Yes, please!” – Grant Tennille (who can speak for your MBM hack also)
Last November’s hero Kenny McLean has a quick chat with the BBC. “The last time we saw [the fans] they were obviously going mental in this place. Maybe it won’t be as loud but hopefully we can give them something to cheer about tonight.”
… and so, inevitably, because the question has to be asked … does that mean another goal from the halfway line? “Eh … I mean … [flashes cheeky smile] … I’ll give it a try at some point, I’m sure!”
Scotland boss Steve Clarke speaks to the BBC. “It’s been a long time since November … it’s good to be here … a bit changeable, the weather! … hopefully it stays dry for the game … we’ll get a good crowd in … I’ve been very impressed with the Japanese … I need to look at certain players in certain positions … that’s what these games are for … there are no surprises in the formation … it’s 4-4-2 … hopefully we’ll cause them a lot of problems.”
Japan striker Daizen Maeda is no stranger to Hampden Park, thanks to his day job at Celtic, and he leads the line today. Leeds midfielder Ao Tanaka also starts for the visitors, while Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton and Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada are on the bench. The Samurai Blue’s list of long-term injured includes captain Waturu Endo of Liverpool, Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo, and Monaco forward Takumi Minamino.
Scotland make five changes to the team sent out to beat Denmark last November. Angus Gunn, Nathan Patterson, Jack Hendry, Tommy Conway and halfway-line hero Kenny McLean take the places of John Souttar and Ryan Christie, who are on the bench, and the missing Craig Gordon, Aaron Hickey and Ben Gannon-Doak. Middlesbrough forward Conway returns to the team after missing the entire qualification campaign. The promising 19-year-old striker Findlay Curtis, on loan at Kilmarnock from Rangers, hopes to make his debut.
The teams
Scotland: Gunn, Patterson, Robertson, McTominay, McGinn, Dykes, Hendry, Ferguson, Conway, McLean, McKenna.
Subs: Kelly, Bain, Hanley, Tierney, Gilmour, Adams, Christie, Miller, Souttar, McCrorie, Hyam, Hirst, Ralston, Irving, Curtis.
Japan: Zion Suzuki, Seko, Watanabe, Hiroki Ito, Sugawara, Fujita, Tanaka, Maeda, Yuito Suzuki, Kodai Sano, Goto.
Subs: Hayakawa, Osako, Taniguchi, Hashioka, Junnosuke Suzuki, Kaishu Sano, Junya Ito, Doan, Mitoma, Kamada, Nakamura, Ueda, Ogawa, Shiogai, Machino.
Preamble
Four months ago, this happened ...
… and now Scotland are coming down the road. A 28-year World Cup thirst will be slaked in three months’ time, and the prep starts now. Kick-off is at 5pm GMT. It’s on!
