[FM16] If I had a Nicol for every goal, I'd have just over six dollars

[dllu]

Go Ronaldo!

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020

Saturday 20th June



The Group of Death just keeps getting worse, as Germany fall to a very, very good Bosnia side. It isn't panic stations for them, but Bosnia now top the group and favourites to stay there. Romania and Ukraine now sit on a point a piece, so both still have a chance going into the final game.

In the other game, France showed their immense quality and battered sorry Austria. I really, really, really hope we don't meet them if we get through. If.

Sunday 21st June



The crunch game in the group, Spain vs Portugal, went the way of the Spaniards, which must have completely ruined Ronaldo's day. He got a goal back, continuing his habit of dragging his nation through matches, but didn't do quite enough. Again, they're still probably going to go through, but that's a big blow. Armenia and Czech Republic both stayed alive with a draw.

Monday 22nd June



There appears to be no pattern to the number of matches per day here. Madness. A bumper four matches on the card for the day. The big story was Italy pulling it out of the fire by beating Switzerland 1-0. Poland may well have grabbed a spot in the next round as well with their win against Serbia.



Switzerland and Italy go in in that order, and I would very much expect Poland to join them.



In Group E, England reigned supreme with a third win on the trot to top their group by a distance. Russia sneak in to 2nd place ahead of Turkey on goal difference thanks to their 4-0 win on the final day, but Turkey should join them.

Tuesday 23rd June



The Group that keeps on giving...Group A saw Romania stun early pace-setters Bosnia at the same time as Germany got themselves back on track.



Again, like the other groups, Romania just missed out on 2nd but should still qualify as a best 3rd placed side. Germany finish 2nd, behind Bosnia on head-to-head. They'll be a very tough opponent for one of the group winners.



As expected, France and Holland cruise into the top two spots with an unbeaten record. France have done it without conceding a goal too following their narrow win against Slovenia. The Dutch have also been impressive, and deserve their spot. Slovenia may struggle with only 3 points, but could still happen.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020



Saturday 20th June

UEFA European Championships 2020

SCOTLAND vs Belgium

Arena Națională, Bucharest







We only went and did it. It wasn't a classic by any means, but Belgium's habit of being a great team playing like an average team fell in our favour today.





Portugal and Spain both secured their spot in the next round with wins in Group C. Good news for Slovenia, as there's no chance whatsoever that the Czech Republic will qualify with their 1 point. The Ronnie Train goes on, but they'll face a group winner.



And more good news for Slovenia as Greece and Sweden played out a 1-1 draw, leaving them on 2 points each. It'll now be Greece and the Czechs that miss out from the 3rd placed sides, with Slovenia, Turkey, Poland and Romania that go through. We somehow sneaked into 2nd, despite having the worst tournament we've ever had in terms of quality.

We await our (seemingly completely random) draw for the second round.

[dllu]

Surely Slim Ronnie must have broken Platini's (or possibly Zlatan's if he broke it first) record of most goals at EURO finals by now?

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020

The draw is a curious thing in this competition. Thanks to the number of groups not being a nice divisible 8, there has to some jiggery pokery in the 1st knockout round to get teams in. You can't just have a straight World Cup style 1st vs 2nd match. So, in lieu of that, it appears UEFA have just blindfolded themselves and threw darts at some cards.

(2nd Group C) Portugal vs Germany (2nd Group A)
(1st Group D) Belgium vs Poland (3rd Group B)

(1st Group B) Switzerland vs Romania (3rd Group A)
(2nd Group E) Russia vs France (1st Group F)

(2nd Group F) Holland vs Italy (2nd Group B)
(1st Group A) Bosnia vs Turkey (3rd Group E)

(1st Group C) Spain vs Slovenia (3rd Group F)

The main theme appears to be that if you finished in 3rd, then you will play one of the group winners. The remaining two group winners each face a 2nd placed side from one of the other groups, and then the remaining four 2nd placed sides play other. I think.

So all that throws up some wonderful matches. Holland vs Italy and Portugal vs Germany both take place on the first day of the knockout rounds. Will Cristiano's dream be crushed by das Mannschaft? Will Holland's good tournament continue, or will Italy come into the tournament late as they usually do? The rest of the matches may not look particularly interesting from a real-life perspective, but the way some of these teams have played, there should be some cracking ties.

I've also paired the matches up to show the path to the final. Winners of each pair face each other, and the winners of that pair with the group below them. So Portugal/Germany/France will not meet Spain/Holland/Italy until the final.

But of course, for the eagle-eyed, you'll notice there's one tie missing. I almost forgot.



Sometimes, the stars just align.

[forameuss]

Surely Slim Ronnie must have broken Platini's (or possibly Zlatan's if he broke it first) record of most goals at EURO finals by now?

He's at least equalled it by my counts through his goals in the tournament so far alone. He had 6 before Euro 2016, then has three already, so he's on 9. Suspect he's beaten it into submission by now.

Actually, just went back and checked, and I think he got 4 in Euro 2016, which means he's now on 13. Looking at the records you posted, I can't see anyone on that list getting near him, so suspect he's the undisputed record holder right now.

[dllu]

Acutally (again according to Wikipedia) UEFA do seem to have a structure for the playoffs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2016#Knockout_phase_structure

I haven't checked with your results to see if it is actually implemented in FM, but it is nothing if not detailed!

And more importantly: VERY much looking forward to that next game...

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020

Saturday 27th June



Germany have had an absolute shocker so far in this tournament, and it's just gone worse. They were given a tough draw in the first knockout round, and now they're out on penalties after a 2-2 draw. No goals for Ronaldo, but his dream stays alive. Earlier on, Holland narrowly defeated Italy with a 3rd minute goal from Janmaat.

Sunday 28th June



After the excitement of the World Champions' exit, Romania eliminated the reigning European Champions with a 4-3 win. Xerdan Shaqiri will be furious that he managed a hat-trick in the knockout stages of a major competition, and STILL didn't win the match. An 87th minute own goal ended their hopes.

Things calmed down for the late game where nothing much happened until the 83rd minute. Then we got two goals in a minute, before a penalty shootout was needed to separate them.

Monday 29th June



Bosnia's glittering tournament ended earlier than I expected with a defeat against Turkey. It does keep the Turk's dreams of going one better than 2016 though. Spain cruised into the quarter finals with probably the most comfortable performance so far.

[forameuss]

Acutally (again according to Wikipedia) UEFA do seem to have a structure for the playoffs:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2016#Knockout_phase_structure

I haven't checked with your results to see if it is actually implemented in FM, but it is nothing if not detailed!

And more importantly: VERY much looking forward to that next game...

From just glancing over it, it looks as though they've got it pretty much spot on. Seems a bit harsh if you're in group E or F, as you'll get a 2nd placed team, while A, B, C and D get a 3rd placed side.

[deltablue]

That is epic!

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020



Tuesday 30th June

UEFA European Championships 2020

SCOTLAND vs England

Arena Națională, Bucharest



Ten days after we upset the odds against Belgium, we're back in Bucharest to face none other than Eddie Howe's England. Hiya Eddie, Hiya pal! It's fair to say that the man doesn't like me, and it's a relationship that appears to be grounded in me getting the better of him once. Actually, it was probably grounded in me saying after they beat us 1-0 at Hampden that we maybe deserved a little more. He did not like that, so when we faced off at Wembley, I made sure I went into full smarm mode, and ended up leaving him "distraught". I've looked out for a match between us ever since, hoping to rekindle the rivalry, and now I've been handed one with the highest of stakes.

Unfortunately, we're not really in much of a state to play them. Our form has been patchy at best after we dragged our sorry carcasses over the line against Kazakhstan, and if you go right back to our defeat against Italy in the World Cup, we've been pretty woeful ever since. This is not an England that is struggling, this is an England who topped their group with consumate ease. I get the feeling that it could be a painful evening.



Leigh Griffiths gets the nod up front, supported by Ikechi Anya (he loves a goal against England) and Che Adams. Gauld plays in behind, and he's probably the most important player we have on the pitch. If we get a result, he'll be involved in it, I have no doubt. Mowatt and McArthur in the middle, Paterson and Robertson on the flanks and Devlin and Donaldson protecting David Marshall. We've got Rhodes, Christie, Ritchie, Phillips and Morrison all on the bench with the ability to change things, so I don't think we could have done much better pre-match.

England, similarly, name a very strong team. They'll play a good old 4-4-2, which I'm fairly happy about, as I think we contained them fairly well last time. We match up in the middle of the pitch, and their wide players can be tracked by our full-backs. However, it's the two up front I'm worried about. We'll have to go man-for-man against them with no defensive midfielder involved. That could be the difference.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020



Tuesday 30th June

UEFA European Championships 2020

SCOTLAND vs England

Arena Națională, Bucharest







Un-****ing-believable.

We were battered. We were bruised. We let them have the ball, and we watched shot after shot pepper our goal. But we won.

They were by far the better team. They went ahead early on, and I settled in for what I thought would be a murder. I could almost sense Eddie Howe ******* himself with delight. Just inside the second half it almost got worse. Callum Paterson took far too long on the ball, but luckily we got away with it. That appeared to be the boost we needed, and Ikechi Anya went up the other end and stroked a wonderful shot past Jack Butland into the corner of the net. Cue exactly three minutes of bedlam, before Danny Welbeck put them back in front. We were still really struggling at this point, but it's a knockout game, I thought, let's just go for it.

I took off Ikechi Anya, replacing him with Ryan Christie, then switched Ryan Gauld over to the left. He's been very good there, so hopefully give England something more to think about. Over the next fifteen minutes or so I put on Souttar for McArthur and Ritchie for Che Adams. The latter wasn't really working, and we know what Ritchie can do.

Then Ryan Christie struck, just after Butland almost let us equalise. Suddenly it's 2-2, the complexion of the game changing, and I shot oor Eddie a nice wee grin.

Five minutes later, Ritchie picked it up inside the box, and absolutely larruped in the winner, sending the lucky fans who managed to stay in Romania into raptures. England charged forward in the remaining minutes, but no way were we going to relinquish this one.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020



Tuesday 30th June

UEFA European Championships 2020

SCOTLAND vs England

Arena Națională, Bucharest

And now a little section I like to call "Eddie Howe Makes an Arse of Himself"



I forgot to post this before the game. Basically, Eddie has a long memory, and even though I tried to "cool relations" (I wasn't, far from it), he will remember what I said. Good. I hope you do.

Of course, this was before we humbled his side in the Rumble in Romania. Here's what he had to say after...





Note that at this point, I am in no way trying to "poke the bear"









I don't think I'm coming across as the bitter one Eddie. Try smug. Ever so smug.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020

Friday 3rd July



It's on! It's so on! Cristiano Ronaldo is edging closer to a title! He takes his tally to 15 goals in European tournaments with a double here, putting Portugal ahead twice before Ivan Cavaleiro got the key 3rd. Belgium go home, and Portugal march on to the semi finals.

Turkey's dream is also over, with Holland edging a tight 2-1 win. Holland were in control at 2-0, before Janmaat's own goal gave the Turks hope. Not enough though.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020



Saturday 4th July

UEFA European Championships 2020

SCOTLAND vs Spain

Zenit Arena, St Petersburg



We roll into Russia after our three games in Romania in a familiar position. It wasn't the 120 minute war we had against Argentina in the World Cup, but the England came took it out of us just as much. We face a Spain side who have been rarely troubled in their games so far. That does worry me, but then England weren't troubled until they faced us. Whatever we do from here doesn't really matter, we can be proud of what we achieved.



We play the same system we usually do with Ritchie, Rhodes and Christie coming in for Adams, Griffiths and Anya.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020



Saturday 4th July

UEFA European Championships 2020

SCOTLAND vs Spain

Zenit Arena, St Petersburg







So close, and yet at the same time, so very, very far.



A magnificent result for Romania as they eliminate France. It took extra-time, but they had just too much for the French with two late goals. A shock, and Romania will be in the semi finals for the first time.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020

Tuesday 7th July



Holland are into the final. It was a pretty steady game until a crazy ten minute spell. Diego Costa put Spain ahead, before ten-man Holland got two goals in two minutes to win the tie. They'll move into the final, facing either Romania or Portugal.

Wednesday 8th July



Cristiano's dream is still alive after Portugal broke Romanian hearts. They went 2-0 up, but a goal back made for an interesting end to the game. Still, it wasn't enough, and Portugal will face Holland at Wembley Stadium in the final.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020

Sunday 12th July



He's only gone and done it. Cristiano Ronaldo steps up, scores the winner, and gives Portugal their first major trophy. Holland scored early, and it looked as though they'd have enough to hold off the Portuguese. But then Goncalo Guedes equalised, and big Ronnie got the winner.



It's party time.

[deltablue]

Such a shame. I was just thinking that one more big win and the sky would be the limit.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA European Championships 2020









A record of those matches and the venue for you.





The awards are out. Quite an odd selection for best player, given that the top 2 exited the competition fairly early. In terms of top scorer, Danny Welbeck can look back at his golden boot and conveniently forget that we put his team out.



And a bit of fallout from the World Cup on our side. Darren Fletcher has now retired from international football on 87 caps. He's sixteen short of the record (Dennis Law with 103) but 87 is still a wonderful haul for the guy. Given the nightmare Darren had in his real life career with illness, I am absolutely delighted for him - both in real life and here - that he fought his way back to become so important for his country.





James McArthur replaces Darren, with Andrew Robertson waiting in the wings. McArthur won't always play, so I expect Andy will be leading us out fairly often. Something he very much deserves.



The board are delighted, obviously.







We're up to 19th, which wasn't the rise I was hoping for. Our World Cup Qualifying group is going to be determined by our World Ranking, so our Nations League results now become very important. At the moment, we're the 14th ranked European side, so comfortably in pot 2. Should we crash and burn against Israel and Ukraine though, we may well drop to pot 3, which could be disastrous. However, if we win those four games...could we hit pot 1?

[dllu]

Finally - a trophy for Slim Ronnie! And what has Messi ever won? Can you hear the crickets...?

As for Scotland's performance:

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020





A number of new players to try out, particularly in midfield, as we try to refresh things a little after the World Cup.



We face Israel at Hampden first, hoping to get off to a good start. I imagine it'll be between the two of us for that relegation spot, with Ukraine taking the top, so this could be a big indicator.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020



4th September 2020

UEFA Nations League 2020

SCOTLAND vs Israel

Hampden Park, Glasgow









A bit of a meh game really. We went 2-0 up, and that glow from the Euros remained with us. Then Israel got a goal back, and we started to wobble. That wobble continued to gain pace until we conceded a late, late equaliser. Very disappointed given how much of a stranglehold we had on the game. All credit to Israel though, they fought longer than we did.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020



8th September 2020

UEFA Nations League 2020

Ukraine vs SCOTLAND

Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, Kiev









Oh dear. This was not very good at all. A 5th minute goal made things look great, but once again we threw away a lead, and didn't stop there. 3-1 down at half-time, and then a 4th added in the second half. Terrible, terrible result, but at least it's "only" in the Nations League.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020





A more familiar looking squad this time as we try and move towards a settled group ahead of the matches that really matter. We play Ireland at Hampden before Ukraine visit

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020



7th October 2020

International Friendly

SCOTLAND vs Ireland

Hampden Park, Glasgow







A good win to get us back on track against Ireland. This time we gave the opposition a head-start for a change, and roared back. An impressive performance, and much needed.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020



13th October 2020

UEFA Nations League 2020

SCOTLAND vs Ukraine

Hampden Park, Glasgow









It's not a win, but the draw at least keeps us alive ahead of the final match against Israel



An Israel win against Ukraine could mean that every team finishes on 5 points (should we beat Israel in the last game), but I'm hoping for a Ukraine win. That means we can close out the 2nd place with a win and stay in the top division for another two years.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020





Moving towards the sort of squad quality I'm looking for.



Israel are favourites for our game in Haifa, with good reason, but I get the feeling we can spring an upset.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020



13th November 2020

UEFA Nations League 2020

Israel vs SCOTLAND

Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa









We've done our part. Israel play Ukraine in the final game, so we need to wait to see whether we'll face a three way fight, or if Ukraine will disappear into the distance.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

UEFA Nations League 2020



17th November 2020

International Friendly

SCOTLAND vs Australia

Hampden Park, Glasgow









We really haven't been very good this Autumn. Australia were the latest side to taste our absolute insipidness. We dominated, but it's still a draw, so our domination doesn't really matter. Our final match this year, and the real stuff starts next year with the World Cup Qualifying. Can't say I'm looking forward to it.



Ukraine drew with Israel in the final match to move into the finals tournament in the Summer of 2021.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career







World Rankings are in, and this is roughly what will be used to judge our seeding for next year's World Cup Qualifiers. At the moment, we're the 12th best European side, which is enough to easily get us a spot in the 2nd pot. It's a missed opportunity though - had we converted a few of those draws into wins, we may well have got a pot 1 spot. Could we live to regret that?















And confirmation that we did manage to get into pot 2. Same format as the Euros - ten groups, most of which will have five teams. Again, I want a six team group, but we're unlikely to get that. I'd love to draw England, as always, but there's a 1 in 10 chance.



And here we are, just before the pot 1 sides get drawn. We didn't get a six team group, but I'm very happy with the way it has gone so far. Bulgaria, Malta and Wales are all good teams to draw, but it could all change with who we draw from pot 1.



And we got Romania. It's not England, but I have to say that that was the most attractive option. Belgium possibly, but even then they're dangerous.



I'm pretty happy with that. Can we finish top? Questionable, but 2nd is definitely achievable.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career



Another year, another diss for Cristiano Ronaldo. He carried Portugal to a European Championship though, so I doubt he cares.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

Right, now that we're in a new tournament, it's time to make some changes. Prior to this, I've been looking to my assistant to give me advice on a few of the more unknown players, given I don't go traipsing around the country watching players. I pretty much go on holiday between matches until the next squad registration, and make decisions from there. Now, that has led to a few players being brought to my attention for good reasons, but it's also meant that I've missed a few regulars who should have been in the squad, just because my assistant believed that Jock McScotland should have got a call-up.

So, I'm now going to pretty much ignore what my assistant says. I'll still look at the regular suggestion of what my squad should be, but take a much closer look at the dross he wants to include. Seems like a pretty obvious thing to say, but still, it's a change for me. I'll therefore be sticking with the same core of players - probably around 18 of them - no matter what, with squads only really changing due to injuries. Should a young player arrive on the scene that looks good, I'll consider it, but not just for the sake of playing him.

So, on we go.









This was the first squad I picked from scratch by hand which wasn't a final tournament squad. The rest, as I said, were all initially suggested, and then changes made from there. It's been remarkably easy, and I feel like I've got more control now than I had before. It also feels like we're turning a corner in terms of phasing out some of the older players. David Marshall, for example, is still involved, but I'd expect Scott Bain to start to play more often than not, and I want to give the very highly rated Robbie McCrorie a few games. That reminds me, must start putting age on the custom view to give you an idea of how we're refreshing the squad. There's a few coming to the ends of their careers - James McArthur springs to mind - but we've also got some players coming into their prime - Ryan Gauld, of course - and some completely new, but highly rated.

Below I've shown you three players that are featuring for the first time (and Che Adams, who someone requested). I'll start to highlight a few players as we go on, whether that be new players or just ones I feel like need highlighting. I'm really excited for Dougie Smith and Peter Dailly. I always like a striker, and to have two players coming through - both at 19 years old - who are projected to be better than Jordan Rhodes is a great position to be in. I want to give them as much time as possible over the next few years.

Jack Grimmer

Dougie Smith

Peter Dailly

Che Adams



After the squad was announced, Joe Bryan dropped out through injury. He's our second-in-line left back, and stood pretty much no chance of playing unless Robertson picked up an injury. Graeme Shinnie replaces him, and that's a good option to have, even if he's not going to play.



Then Michael Devlin dropped out. This is a little more concerning. He's not the greatest player, but center back is the position we're really crying out for quality in. If we get two - hell, even one - highly rated defender into the squad from a young age, I'll be delighted. It's sorely needed. Jason Naismith comes in for him.

[Nottingham Forest]

Still loving this forameuss. Those two young strikers look incredible already. None have another nationality do they? Would be gutting to select them only for them to go and play for England or something .

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



17th November 2020

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

Belarus vs SCOTLAND

Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus



Tough wee game to start us off as we travel to Belarus. I imagine that they'll be hoping to push for a 2nd placed berth, but either ourselves or Romania will be favourites for that. Still a tough trip.



Prior to the trip though, Jordan Rhodes drops out with a twisted ankle. As a result, Jamie Ferguson - another good young prospect - joins up. We'll now be starting our campaign with three completely untested forwards. Lovely.



Romania should steal a march on us early on when they play likely group whipping-boys Malta.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



27th March 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

Belarus vs SCOTLAND

Borisov Arena, Barysaw, Belarus



I always hate that formation. It just looks so rubbish with the vast open swathes of pitch between the DMs and the AMs. Let's hope that our players can take advantage of that. We line up in the usual way, with Peter Dailly getting his debut.







A very good evenings work, completed after 15 minutes. We were 2-0 up by then, and cruising. Matt Ritchie's goal was a weird one - we were all over them for the first few minutes, and a deep cross appeared to come off his face from three yards. The keeper flew over, but could only palm it softly into the net. They all count. Ryan Christie finished them off, and we comfortably saw out the rest of the game. Goal difference is a factor in this group though, so maybe a little disappointing that we didn't add to our total. Still, 2-0 away in Eastern Europe is not to be sniffed at.





Romania won easily, as expected. I think (although we could still screw it up) that we'll be neck and neck until we travel to Bucharest to face them. Our first face-off will be very interesting indeed.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



30th March 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

SCOTLAND vs Wales

Hampden Park, Glasgow



In a purely footballing sense, I have it in for Wales.

This is nothing against their people (they're brilliant) but after watching both games in our fated World Cup Qualifying group, and having a pathological hatred for Gareth Bale (and to a lesser extent Aaron Ramsey), I don't like them much. So I'll be very much expecting a win here. It won't be the first time we've played them at Hampden, but when we go to Cardiff, it will be. More on that later.

We are the favourites, but it should be a close one. These UK-only battles are always tight, but it'll be nice to go into one without Eddie Howe's leering face hanging over it.



Remember when I said Shinnie probably wouldn't play? Well, the worst happened. Andrew Robertson, probably our star player behind Ryan Gauld, is out for the game. No time to call up a replacement, but I don't think we have a decent one anyway.



Romania have their first little obstacle in the shape of Belarus. I would love them to take some points off the Romanians to give us an early advantage.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



30th March 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifiers

SCOTLAND vs Wales

Hampden Park, Glasgow



And here's the line-ups. Now, before anyone asks, there is no Gareth Bale. I actually plan on doing a separate post later on on that subject, so stay tuned. Good to see some strong Welsh names in there though - three Williams', a Thomas, a Davies. Good effort. Dailly keeps his place up front for us while Robbie Armstrong comes in on the left. Need to get a screenshot of him, as he's an exciting player for us. Still fairly young, but already quality, and gives us some new blood in a position where our players are rapidly aging.







Another comprehensive victory, and one that took me by surprise somewhat. I expected a win, and told the players as much, but the manner in which we brushed aside the Welsh was very pleasing. Getting Joe Allen sent off after 10 minutes can't have helped, but his tackle was pretty horrendous. We took control from there, with their already defensive formation now having a massive gaping hole. It took until the 48th minute, but once we took the lead we didn't look back. Dailly got his first goal for Scotland, as did Robbie Armstrong. All in all, a very good day for us.





Romania passed their first test and won 2-1 at home to Belarus, putting us neck and neck at the top. We're ahead on goal difference having kept two clean sheets. Say it quietly, but we have just beaten the two sides I expected trouble from fairly handily. In the Summer we play Malta (and a friendly against Peru). Should we win that, we'll go into the first Romania game knowing that a win all but secures us a top two finish, barring a spectacular collapse. If Romania drop points along the way, all the better.

Could we go on and actually win a group?

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina





Coll Donaldson comes in for the injured Callum Paterson, Jordan Rhodes returns in place of Ferguson, and Graeme Shinnie keeps his spot despite the return from injury of Joe Bryan. All the changes were enforced either by injury, or a better player coming back. That's what I'm aiming for this campaign.





For the first time I've added clubs to the squad rundown to give you an idea of where everyone is. Surprised to see that 8 of the 23 are based in Scotland. Would like that to be higher (if only to stop the media bitching about it) but 8 is still good. Most of those from Dundee United too. Twelve come from England at various levels, and the remaining three - Ryan Gauld, James McArthur and David Marshall - are at Sporting, Al Ain and Real Salt Lake respectively. Surprised to see James McArthur go to the Middle East - poor boy will be burnt to a crisp.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



9th June 2021

International Friendly

SCOTLAND vs Peru

Hampden Park, Glasgow



A chance for a few fringe players to make an impression here. Not too bothered about the result.







Which is lucky, because we got pumped. Bad day at the office all around, but at least it's just a friendly. Doubt you could think of any better team to play next after that than Malta.





Belarus and Romania both won while we were playing Peru, which puts the Romanians three clear at the top. They'll sit out the next match-day, before returning against us in September.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



15th June 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifier

SCOTLAND vs Malta

Hampden Park, Glasgow



No excuses, we should be absolutely battering teams like Malta. A win draws us level with Romania ahead of our match in Bucharest. Imperative.



Wales play Belarus, and you have to say that if Wales lose that one, it's a very, very long way back to reach even 3rd position

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



15th June 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifier

SCOTLAND vs Malta

Hampden Park, Glasgow









Annoyed to lose that goal, but other than that, not much to complain about after a 6-1 win. Jordan Rhodes got a hat-trick to keep those young strikers from the door for a little while. I don't know how much you can realistically draw from such a game, but very impressed with the way the players responded after a difficult game against Peru.





Wales did indeed lose their game, so it's looking grim for them. Belarus are just three points behind us, but I can't see them getting much off of either Romania or ourselves in the two games they have remaining. At the moment, it looks like a straight shootout for the group win, with the first of those shootouts in September.

[dllu]

Perfect start to the campaign - and always nice to win an intra-British derby!

Surely it's going to be between you and Romania...

[deltablue]

I think you've got a good chance of coming out on top.

[Nobby_McDonald]

Well done at the Euros.

I have a theory why Qatar lose the World Cup in FM16. It has been said it will be a Winter World Cup and this will affect domestic schedules, but no changes to them have been announced. So currently, SI have no realistic formula to follow.

[dllu]

I have a theory why Qatar lose the World Cup in FM16. It has been said it will be a Winter World Cup and this will affect domestic schedules, but no changes to them have been announced. So currently, SI have no realistic formula to follow.

My guess is you're pretty much spot on. Still, why miss a good opportunity to make a thinly veiled political statement? Luckily the two aren't mutually exclusive...

[forameuss]

Perfect start to the campaign - and always nice to win an intra-British derby!

Surely it's going to be between you and Romania...

I'd expect so. I thought Belarus would be one of those stodgy "hard-to-beat" sides, but they haven't really been so far. We're already so far ahead as a pair that it probably has to be down to the two of us.

I think you've got a good chance of coming out on top.

A good chance, definitely, but could still ruin it with a poor head-to-head record against Romania. Second would be fine within reason, but first is definitely an option.

Well done at the Euros.

I have a theory why Qatar lose the World Cup in FM16. It has been said it will be a Winter World Cup and this will affect domestic schedules, but no changes to them have been announced. So currently, SI have no realistic formula to follow.

My guess is you're pretty much spot on. Still, why miss a good opportunity to make a thinly veiled political statement? Luckily the two aren't mutually exclusive...

Yeah Nobby, you're definitely right. I'm not sure if it was officially confirmed, but I'm sure mods said it was simply because switching to a Winter World Cup would have meant they had to delve into the complete unknown and potentially screw up the games scheduling. For three or four seasons, they'd have to hard-code new schedules - can imagine the already tetchy editing community would be thrilled. So they took the easy way out.

I'm still quite surprised they did it though, or didn't just put it in the Summer anyway. SI as a company are rightly very wary of legal/licensing issues, so it surprises me that on such a public issue, they'd make such a bold statement. With FIFA's history of suing South African peasants who painted the words World Cup on their local business, I wouldn't have thought they'd want to poke the bear. Still, it's pretty small-fry, and I doubt it's much of an issue. Just surprised me a bit.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina





Two massive games coming up. Should we win both, I'd put us as massive favourites for winning the group. Lose both, and it could be trouble. Fine margins at this stage despite our good form already.

The only real change from last time is Ali Crawford coming in for the injured Stuart Armstrong.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



4th September 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifier

Romania vs SCOTLAND

Arena Națională, Bucharest



Romania are the favourites, but it's narrow. An absolutely massive game in the group, and the winner will surely go on to top the group.



Wales travel to Malta to try and get their campaign back on track.

[forameuss]

We have a dream, of not coming home too soon

A Scotland Career

The Road to Argentina



4th September 2021

FIFA World Cup 2022 Qualifier

Romania vs SCOTLAND

Arena Națională, Bucharest









We almost threw it away.

Romania took the lead, and I started to worry that it might not be our night. Well, for 2 minutes at least, before Ryan Gauld got us back level. From there, we took control of the game, scoring another 2 to go into what seemed like an unassailable lead. But then Adrian Ene got a goal back, and we nervously withdrew further and further. Of course, Sergiu Bus leapt on that indecision and drew them level.

Now, a draw would not be the worst result in the World, but having been 3-1 up, I was pretty furious that we let this slip. But then beautiful, beautiful boy Ryan Gauld stepped up, deep into stoppage time. He collected a pass, just inches onside, took a touch, and then slammed it past the keeper from just outside the six yard box. An absolutely massive goal.





We take a massive step towards top spot, moving three points ahead of Romania. It'll now be down to results against other sides - if we win all of those comfortably, then even a win for Romania at Hampden might not be enough. A draw for us...we're set.

Wales pumped Malta, so at the half-way point they have an outside shot of getting 2nd. It's a long way back though.