A convincing win for Scotland tonight. So often, Scotland have nearly reached a major championship finals but in the end have narrowly missed out. I wonder if this time, after having been written off by just about everybody, they will pull off a surprise and make it through? It seems that Strachan has finally understood that having Celtic players as the core of the squad has the advantage that they know each others game and that this makes the whole team a more cohesive unit. However, even with 7 points from their last two games Scotland would almost certainly finish 3rd and therefore they have to beat Slovakia at Hampden in October. They really should beat both Malta and Slovenia, so beating Slovakia as well would give them 20 points. With 20 points Scotland could theoretically win the group but that would require a highly unlikely sequence of events. 20 points would almost certainly be good enough for the play offs should they finish second, but 20 points might well see them finish 3rd.
Assuming Slovakia beat Malta and lose to Scotland then Slovakia would need to beat England on Monday to finish ahead of Scotland. That would give them 21 points. Two wins or a win and a draw against Slovenia and Lithuania would also put England over the 20 point mark.. But a win and a loss in their last 2 games would leave England level with Scotland on the 20 point mark. Should Slovakia draw against England then they would end on 19 points - one behind Scotland. This would put England on 18 points so a win against either Lithuania or Slovenia would see them topping the group. The key game is therefore on Monday when England host Slovakia. If Slovakia fail to win then Scotland's fate will be in their own hands. A win for England would put them already on 20 points with a vastly superior goal difference to Scotland. A draw would therefore give Scotland an outside chance of winning the group in the event of England then slipping up against Slovenia and Lithuania. The fact that Scotland could finish equal 1st or 2nd with England means that goal difference is decisive. Scotland should therefore be looking to score as many as possible against Malta on Monday whilst hoping Slovakia don't beat England
If Slovakia fail to beat England, and Scotland beat Slovakia next month, then Scotland should reach the playoffs. Monday should therefore be one off those rare occasions when Scots don't want England to lose!
A convincing win for Scotland tonight. So often, Scotland have nearly reached a major championship finals but in the end have narrowly missed out. I wonder if this time, after having been written off by just about everybody, they will pull off a surprise and make it through? It seems that Strachan has finally understood that having Celtic players as the core of the squad has the advantage that they know each others game and that this makes the whole team a more cohesive unit. However, even with 7 points from their last two games Scotland would almost certainly finish 3rd and therefore they have to beat Slovakia at Hampden in October. They really should beat both Malta and Slovenia, so beating Slovakia as well would give them 20 points. With 20 points Scotland could theoretically win the group but that would require a highly unlikely sequence of events. 20 points would almost certainly be good enough for the play offs should they finish second, but 20 points might well see them finish 3rd.
Assuming Slovakia beat Malta and lose to Scotland then Slovakia would need to beat England on Monday to finish ahead of Scotland. That would give them 21 points. Two wins or a win and a draw against Slovenia and Lithuania would also put England over the 20 point mark.. But a win and a loss in their last 2 games would leave England level with Scotland on the 20 point mark. Should Slovakia draw against England then they would end on 19 points - one behind Scotland. This would put England on 18 points so a win against either Lithuania or Slovenia would see them topping the group. The key game is therefore on Monday when England host Slovakia. If Slovakia fail to win then Scotland's fate will be in their own hands. A win for England would put them already on 20 points with a vastly superior goal difference to Scotland. A draw would therefore give Scotland an outside chance of winning the group in the event of England then slipping up against Slovenia and Lithuania. The fact that Scotland could finish equal 1st or 2nd with England means that goal difference is decisive. Scotland should therefore be looking to score as many as possible against Malta on Monday whilst hoping Slovakia don't beat England
If Slovakia fail to beat England, and Scotland beat Slovakia next month, then Scotland should reach the playoffs. Monday should therefore be one off those rare occasions when Scots don't want England to lose!