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Scotland v Curaçao: World Cup warm-up match – live | Scotland
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Half-time entertainment. Seeing we were on the subject of We Have A Dream …
HALF TIME: Scotland 1-1 Curaçao
An eventful first half comes to an end in farcical circumstances, as Room, busy ranting at the referee, is accidentally showered by a pitchside sprinkler. A comedy basic that never fails to tickle.
45 min +6: Robertson creams a shot over the bar from a tight angle on the left. Then Curtis crosses low from the same flank, but the ball rolls behind Hirst.
45 min +5: Curtis is popping up everywhere. Full of energy after his first international goal.
45 min +3: … and that leads to a brief outbreak of head tennis, before Curaçao clear their lines.
45 min +2: The second of six additional minutes. Gannon-Doak wins a corner down the right …
45 min +1: That was a cute finish by Curtis. Not much power, but that wasn’t the point. It was all about precision, a neat first touch, and taking the shot early.
GOAL! Scotland 1-1 Curaçao (Curtis 45)
What an introduction by Curtis! A mere couple of minutes after coming on, he latches onto McLean’s pass down the inside-left channel, takes a touch inside the box, and dribbles a shot across Room and into the bottom right! The mood changes instantly!
44 min: If the game was bitty before, it’s positively in pieces after that VAR check and the pause for Gilmour’s injury.
42 min: Gilmour looks really unhappy for a minute or so. Then, thankfully, appears slightly less flustered as he gets up and walks off the pitch and down the tunnel. No limp. Curtis comes on in his place. Hopefully this substitution is just precautionary. Fingers crossed, everyone.
40 min: Gilmour pings a pass wide right for Gannon-Doak, then hops, spins, and signals to the bench before going down. That doesn’t look good. There was no contact, just a reaction as he sidefooted the ball to his team-mate. He’s holding his right knee.
39 min: Dick Advocaat is furious as well, railing at the fourth official. But that’s surely displacement. He’ll be raging at his player’s stupidity.
RED CARD: Locadia (Curaçao)
38 min: VAR gets involved. How badly did Locadia catch Hickey? Pretty badly, as it turns out. An elbow planted on the side of Hickey’s face as Locadia comes across. The referee goes over to the screen, and has no option. Red card. Locadia is fuming, but what a daft thing to do.
36 min: Chong thinks he’s got the better of Hickey down the left, but the full-back wins a grapple. Chong doesn’t get the foul he thinks he deserves, and throws a toddler’s tantrum. Hickey gets on with the job of clearing the ball, and is cleaned out by Locadia for his trouble. The whistle goes, and the ref books both of the Curaçao players.
34 min: Christie dribbles hard down the left. For a second, it looks as if a route through to goal will open up for him, but Curaçao shut the door, and there are no options in the middle.
32 min: Hampden is not exactly en fête right now. That early party atmosphere has long dissipated.
30 min: Gannon-Doak has looked really lively, and here he is again, winning the ball 35 yards from goal and immediately haring off down the inside-right channel. He hits a low shot-cum-cross that’s easily snaffled by Room. Gannon-Doak has been a plus point for Scotland, who desperately need one.
28 min: Good news, Hickey’s back up and is OK to continue. He is still feeling that shoulder gingerly, though.
27 min: Hickey dribbles infield from the right, before being shoved from behind by Fonville. He falls awkwardly on his left shoulder, and stays down awhile. Hampden falls silent; Hickey’s been so unfortunate with injuries. Not another, surely?
25 min: A drinks break. Everyone getting into the rhythm ahead of the World Cup.
23 min: Hickey curls a cross in from the right. The ball doesn’t quite drop to Hirst. Curaçao half-clear. McLean sends another ball in from the left. Hirst meets this one, heading powerfully towards the bottom right. Room gets down to claw the ball away.
21 min: That goal was brought to you by Chrysler automobiles. Hampden is sort of shocked. Not that shocked, though. We’ve been here before. “I told you, dog!” yelps James Humphries. “I warned you about the football gods, bro! I mean, after a certain point you just have to laugh, eh? (weeps into beer)”
19 min: Scotland nearly respond immediately, Hirst chasing Christie’s neat pass down the left channel into the box. Hirst tries to round Room on the outside, but the keeper touches the ball away to save the day for the visitors.
GOAL! Scotland 0-1 Curaçao (Chong 17)
The smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup take the lead! And in some style! Chong spins on the halfway line and takes off down the inside-right channel, leaving McKenna for dead, then sending Souttar off to the shops, dropping a shoulder to shift infield, and into the box. He creams a low drive into the bottom right, and well, this story is as old as time.
15 min: Gilmour creams a diagonal pass to Gannon-Doak on the right touchline. The crowd coo as the winger kills the ball stone dead, before tearing off down the wing. He can’t quite get the better of Fonville, who stays strong, but that was promising play from both Gilmour and Gannon-Doak. Hampden enjoyed it.
13 min: Now it’s Scotland’s turn to do some clipping, Gimour catching Juninho Bacuna on the edge of the Scottish D. But the referee waves play on. It’s all a bit scrappy at the moment, tell the truth.
11 min: Hickey threatens to burst down the right but is nudged over by Juninho Bacuna. The Bacuna brothers putting themselves about during these early exchanges.
9 min: Gilmour is clipped late in the centre circle by Curaçao captain Leandro Bacuna, and isn’t too happy about it. When play restarts, Scotland push forward, Christie teeing up Robertson, haring in from the left. Robertson hits a shot with the passion of a man who may be wondering whether he should have bided his time and outwaited Arne Slot. It’s a fierce skelp, but always heading wide right.
7 min: Juninho Bacuna dribbles into the Scotland box from the left, but Gilmour gets in the way, intercepting, dribbling back out of the box, and clearing. Neat play all round.
6 min: Shankland sends Gannon-Doak off down the right. He skedaddles away from Fonville and tries to float an ambitious effort across Room in the Curaçao goal and into the top left. Over it goes. That would certainly have been something, had it gone in.
4 min: Chong drops deep, pinging a clever diagonal down the left for Fonville to chase. Gannon-Doak is on point to cover and intercept. Good to see the Bournemouth winger back.
3 min: Christie is clipped by Gaari out on the left touchline. Robertson swings the free kick into the mixer. Hirst eyebrows the ball wide right, with Souttar better placed behind him. Decent delivery though.
2 min: A first touch for Hirst, who sends a simple pass straight out of play. Good to get the first groan of the afternoon out of the way early doors.
1 min: Curaçao are on the front foot immediately. Of course they are. Locadia presses down the left but can’t get the better of Hickey. Goal kick.
Scotland get the ball rolling. The Big Send-Off! “As soon as I saw that ‘big send-off’ bit I knew what was coming next,” writes James Humphries. “But jeezo man, you don’t need to provoke the football gods, surely?”
But first, the national anthem. “Well, somebody’s got to, haven’t they?” shrugs Simon McMahon. “Before reality bites, again.”
The teams are out! Scotland in blue, Curaçao in yellow. A fun atmosphere at Hampden. No Chrysler Avenger sponsorship. We’ll be off in a minute or three.
Steve Clarke talks to BBC Scotland. “First time in 28 years … a great story for Scotland but also a great story for Curaçao, so what a nice game to have … five of the more regular members of the squad won’t be here today … Ross Stewart felt something in his knee so there’s no point risking him … the ones on the pitch have plenty about them, so hopefully a good performance and a good result … a chance to be on the pitch, so show us what you can do … a good performance, no injuries, a win would be nice as well … we expect a tough game … they are a small nation but have players who have come through the Dutch system … they know how to play.”
Curaçao are not without star names themselves. Their captain Leandro Bacuna spent a decade in England, splitting his time between Aston Villa, Reading, Cardiff and Watford; his brother Juninho sandwiched a brief spell at Rangers with longer stints at Huddersfield and Birmingham. Defender Armando Obispo plays for Dutch champions PSV, while their attack consists of Jurgen Locadia, once of Brighton, and Sheffield United’s Tahith Chong.
Curaçao gaffer Dick Advocaat, formerly of Rangers, speaks to the BBC. “My family and myself had the best time in Scotland … the people are very kind … [today’s line-up] is the strongest side I can bring … it is important to see the way we play … we have a quite difficult group … the expectations are not that high … but without expectation you can still do something … most of my teams are well-organised … everyone knows what to do … I expect a good game from us.”
Scotland are resting their star man Scott McTominay this afternoon. Or has the Napoli icon been superseded in everyone’s affections by John McGinn, on account of his elegant exploits for Europa League winners Aston Villa? Either way, he’s been stood down too. Che Adams, Lewis Ferguson, Kieran Tierney and Ross Stewart are also putting their feet up after heavy end-of-season workloads. But that’s all for the greater good, according to Scotland coach Steve Clarke, who explains: “We’ve got players that haven’t played since the start of May … they need some minutes on the pitch … the modern game is pretty much a squad game anyway, but it’s going to be even more out there because of the extreme conditions … every match there’ll be 16 players going on the pitch at some stage.”
Curaçao have never beaten a European team. On the other hand, Scotland have failed to win any of their last six matches against nations from Concacaf, a dismal run that stretches back to a 4-1 victory over Trinidad and Tobago in 2004. So in that respect, this one’s firmly in the balance. Here, while we’re on the subject, Scotland were the recipient of mucho pelters when they lost to Costa Rica at Italia 90, but let’s be fair, Juan Cayasso’s winner is one of the great under-appreciated goals in World Cup history. What a move! Hey, it’s been 36 years, we can smile about it now.
This match is being billed by the wise and highly respected mandarins of the SFA as “The Big Send-Off”. We’ve been here before, of course. Though if a Big Send-Off is once again a precursor to, and karmic guarantee of, a performance like this …
… you’d deal on it, no? I’d take it in a heartbeat. Haiti and Morocco might be tough watches, but it’ll be worth going through the mill to see what Ben Gannon-Doak does to Brazil.
The teams
Scotland: Gordon, Hickey, Souttar, McKenna, Robertson, Doak, Gilmour, McLean, Christie, Shankland, Hirst.
Subs: Kelly, Gunn, Fletcher, Hanley, Graham, Dykes, Wilson, Hendry, Hyam, Patterson, Ralston, Curtis.
Curaçao: Room, Gaari, Bazoer, Obispo, Floranus, Leandro Bacuna, Comenencia, Fonville, Chong, Locadia, Juninho Bacuna.
Subs: Doornbusch, Bodak, Sambo, van Eijma, Roemeratoe, Antonisse, Hansen, Noslin, Gorre, Margaritha, Martha, Kastaneer, Kuwas, Brenet, Felida.
Preamble
Look, you’d think Scotland should do for Curaçao. But then …
… and you know how things go when we all get ahead of ourselves …
… and to be fair, Curaçao are ranked 82nd in the world, just 39 shy of the 43rd-ranked Scots. Also there’s the Dick Advocaat factor. It could be fun. It should be fun. Kick-off at Hampden Park is at 1pm BST. It’s on!
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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