john mcginn - scotland v japan

Scotland vs Japan tips, predictions, best bets and international friendly preview



Football betting tips: International Friendlies

1pt Scotland to win and both teams to score at 11/2 (General)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair


Kick-off: 17:00 GMT, Saturday

TV: BBC One Scotland/BBC iPlayer

Live odds, form and stats

https://ads.skybet.com/redirect.aspx?pid=17678473&lpid=20&bid=1491

Scotland fans and players must have been rather smug watching Thursday's play-off chaos having safely booked their place at a first World Cup since 1998 back in November; in similarly dramatic circumstances might I add.

Kieran Tierney's stunning stoppage-time strike was somehow eclipsed moments later when Kenny McLean scored from his own half to ensure they beat Denmark and booked their spot in Canada, Mexico and the USA.

It means Steve Clarke's side instead face a friendly double-header with Japan on Saturday and Ivory Coast on Tuesday.

They head into the opening fixture as significant outsiders, perhaps as a result of Japan's FIFA world ranking of 19 compared to Scotland's 38, and the Tartan Army's poor underlying numbers in qualifying.

Clarke's men won all three home matches to secure qualification, beating Greece 3-1, Belarus 2-1 and Denmark 4-2.

While the 11/5, only a touch shorter than they were to beat the Danes, would be a tempting price in a competitive fixture the 11/2 about SCOTLAND TO WIN & BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE is instead advised to smaller stakes.

Japan did keep a very high number of clean sheets in qualifying, 11 in 16 matches, but the weak nature of Asia's system means we can't read too much into that.

Australia (31st) were the only top-50 nation they faced and those meetings ended in a 1-1 draw at home and 1-0 away defeat.


Odds correct at 10:35 GMT (27/03/26)

More from Sporting Life

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.

Like what you've read?

MOST READ FOOTBALL

Join for Free
Image of stables faded in a gold gradientGet exclusive Willie Mullins insight, plus access to premium articles, expert tips and Timeform data, plus more...
Log in
Discover Sporting Life Plus benefitsWhite Chevron
Sporting Life Plus Logo

FOOTBALL TIPS