andychar

Friendly Canada (h) Something satisfying about making the Hosts come to us for a friendly. Quite a few birds with one stone here. 1) Fitness 2) Country ticked off 3) It matches a team we play in the Group Stage. Everybody happy. I think Canada are the highest World Ranking team we have chosen to play. My thoughts are they are unlikely to get to a World Cup in the Future so best get them done now. I've gone for a fairly strong squad here. Not quite full XI. Munro starts with Buchan on the wing. The defence is roughly full strength. I have my eye on a young Nigerian who can represent us. He hasn't made his mind up yet and if he had he wouldn't only be in the squad, he'd be a starting member of it. This has been very uncomfortable viewing. We haven't been great at all and for the first time in a while. I'm slightly concerned. Well there it is. Probably the worst performance I've seen from this side. Missed opportunity to tick off a Country here we will have to see Canada again at some point.

World Cup 2026 Actual Squad So once again I was asked to whittle it down without seeing anybody in action. Some were easy decisions. Some not so much. 26 men make it so I had to cut 27. Only 3 got called up anyway so it was obvious here. I've skimped on defenders I feel. Gambled. Robertson, Tierney, Patterson and McKenna are going to be the starters I feel, maybe McTominay. Good strength in depth. Greg Taylor comes in as we needed a back up LB I feel. Seemingly lots of midfield but when you get rid of the players who can play multiple positions, Robertson, McTominay, Brown etc its not that stacked. 2 players who will likely make their debut at some point in this window but I can't see it changing too much from my usual 5. McGinn, Gilmour, Armstrong, Christie, Turnbull. There will be some chopping and changing though. Munro is wanted by some big hitters in Europe so he is going to be a star. For now Che Adams will be the starter but I don't think its going to be long before Munro starts to chase down Adams. I am confident we can at least reach the knockouts, then it will be down to how kind the draw is. Topping our group will help with that.

World Cup 2026 Squad This is just the preliminary squad and if its anything like last time I'll have to whittle it down without playing a single game. Murray Johnson isn't the Hibs starter because of McGinty. I can't call him up. Now this is a big squad which will be greatly whittled down. I feel we are screaming out for a World Class Keeper and its just not happening. Think Hibs have one but they are holding him back. Kelly will be Number 1. You know its a big squad when the defenders don't fit on one page! So out of all of these only 1 can potentially make his debut and he's unlikely to make the final squad. Don't be surprise to find the usual bunch here but we are struggling for CB I think which is why Tierney has been playing there recently. George Buchan is the only here that stands out. 18 years old and I think will be a shock inclusion in the Final Squad. Some are here for nostaglia sake with no chance of making the actual squad, looking at you Callum Paterson. The Midfield continues to look strong with good battles for all places. All these strikers called up for it to be whittled down to Che Adams, Dylan Munro and probably Jacob Brown.

Nations League Draw Its always a good sign when you get mentioned as the "crap teams" Ok well...we have a good chance of maybe upsetting Croatia? The rest, well its going to be tough to survive. 3rd is absolutely an achievement, but its a chance of ticking off a few heavy hitters. Just look at Group 2. Take your pick from that! I'd have wanted Group 1. Between either Denmark or Ireland we would have fancied our chances. Typical England getting the absolute easiest draw possible. Of all the Friendlies to survive it was Tuvalu. Brilliant.

The next International Break will be the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The first time Scotland have qualified since 1998. We seek our first World Cup Victory since 1990. I decided to make a load of Friendlies in the end knowing most will be cancelled but some might survive. The rest of the year potentially looks like this but I imagine it will be all change.

Friendly China (h) If you have followed my previous saves you'll know I have a somewhat unhealthy hatred of Chinese Football. So this is a grudge match for me. So it will surprise nobody that I've gone for what I believe to be my strongest XI. There are plenty of people here who can only play 45 minutes so the second half will be interesting. I can only make 5 subs as well because I kept forgetting to change it when I create the friendly. Good work from Che Adams down the side who tees up Ryan Christie to fire home. Good start. A thunderbolt from Ryan Christie this time! Great start. A penalty from Ryan Christie. Its a 9 minute hattrick. Amazing start. Ryan Gauld makes it 4 and in my head it wasn't going to be this easy. A rare McTominay goal from a swinging free kick. We are beating these better than a side who isn't even Ranked! We are struggling to keep clean sheets at the moment which is a worry. Che Adams finally chips in just before the break. Well I wasn't expecting this good of a performance. 7 players can only play 45 minutes and I can only make 5 subs. I'm going to annoy a few managers! Strangly the Liverpool manager has given me full permission for Robertson to play the full 90! Ryan Christie gets his 4th in what's been a dull second half. Job very much done. Happy with that. Estonia and Malta will find themselves playing in the bottom Division in the Nations League... Spain lift the competiton. I can make a load of Friendlies but I imagine they will be cancelled to make way for the next Nations League so I'm not going to bother just yet.

Friendlies Saint Barthelemy (h) Haha it is a waste of time but it needs to be done once! Some new names in the starting line up. Best time to do it. Owen McInnes scores 3 minutes into his debut. 20 minutes gone and the visitors are down to 10 men. It was already going to be a long night for them, now its going to be even longer. Took longer than I'm happy with to make it 2. Munro scores on his debut. Munro gets his second and our 3rd. Should be more at the half really. With them also being down to 10. Armstrong fires home our 4th. Turnbull with a lovely freekick. Nice and easy. A 7th added at the end and Lowry gets his first goal. Nice and easy.

Nothing different here. McGinty still Hibs number 1 so he will keep getting the call up but honestly I wish the other guy would move so he can develop into my Number 1! Gone for some changes here while its friendlies. I wanted to look at Owen McInnes, he has a bright future so wanted an early look. Same with Dylan Munro. He will 100% start at least 1 game. Maybe both.

For once I've followed advice! We have a good chance to tick off some Countries here.

World Cup Draw 2026 Please...no more Italy. I can't do it anymore. I'm just glad its not Roy Keane. So many groups! Mexico and South Africa for us. It could have been better but my God it could have been much much worse. I'm very happy with it. 2 teams I can tick off as well. Looking around the other Groups. Group O - Argentina and Norway will be a good game. Group I - Brazil v Denmark. Other than that I can't say anything stands out. Remember the Top 2 from each Group go through to the knockouts which start at the Last 16. I'm confident we can get to the Last 16, hopefully the draw is kind.

World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers So who got there? We know France and we know us. Not really any shocks in the slightest. Other than the European Champions not only finishing 2nd but not being a lucky loser. Albania unlucky to finish 3rd with 21 points. Bit of a wait now. More Countries to hopefully tick off and the World Cup draw to come.

World Cup 2026 Qualifying France (a) I don't think this will go well at all. Technically we still have a chance to finish top. It requires us to win 5-0. Easy right? I think at this point we are officially at the World Cup but its not a guarentee. No surprises here. Laidlaw is up front as suspension and injury has meant changes on the wing. James Scott comes in to fill the space injury has provided. Gauld moves to the wing. McKenna comes in for the suspended Porteous. Good luck gentlemen. Its been a bombardment. We are still level though. If we could somehow nick a goal and sneak a win ticking them off the list would be huge...we were level at the half last time we played them however! I fear the floodgates are going to open. Varane from a corner. If football lasted 45 minuts we would be fine. Destroyed. Pretty much as expected. Mission failed successfully. Expectations? Nothing yet. We shall see. Officially the next Break will be a few friendlies but we will see what happens.

World Cup 2026 Qualifying Romania (h) This is the game we need to put all our eggs into. France away is going to be near impossible. So lets win this and give our runner up place the best chance to take us into the World Cup. Gauld gets the nod up front. Other than that its a fairly standard XI. Armstrong squares it and Gauld fires into an empty net. Couldn't have asked for a better start really. Gauld makes it 2. We counter from a corner and double the lead. Its looking good. We haven't had much of the ball but when we have it we look good. A needless penalty and Romania are back in it. But we go straight down the other end and store. Christie with the goal. Well it wasn't a gripping performance but 3 points and 3 goals will do nicely.

This is the break that will see us either at the World Cup for the first time since 1998 or not. Easy as that. Romania at home and then France away. Before I even started to prepare we got bad news. Disadvantage straight away. It seems Hibs are determined to play McGinty instead of his younger back up which means Kelly at the moment will remain the number 1. Archer back in the fold but strictly to make up the numbers. With Jack Hendry being the least capped defender we know we are in safe hands at the back. Still a lot of suspensions waiting to happen. I love our midfield. Its stacked. I don't know who will get the nod. Laidlaw's numbers look amazing but he got 4 of them against Sao Tome and Principe so go figure!

Friendly Sao Tome and Principe (a) I closed down the SI Forums tabs while closing all the gyzao tabs so lost the entire build up and first half here... We are 7-0 up. Armstrong makes it 8. He came off the bench at half time. I really want 10. Can't keep a clean sheet for love nor money at the moment. Is the comeback on!? Come on. 1 more! How can I score 9 and be annoyed. Job done I suppose. Any hopes of a shock France loss went away. 2 more games Romania at home and France away. We are best of the rest and I'd say looking good for qualification. Win against Romania and its all but secure.

World Cup 2026 Qualifying North Macedonia (h) A chance to really cement our place in the World Cup 2026 as a successful runner up. We are favourites although I thought it might be by more! No real surprises to the line up. Gilmour has found himself the starter ahead of McGregor but I'm lucky to have great options in midfield. Che Adams is going to make sure his record is unbreakable! A mistake pounced on. Che Adams will another great goal. Fantastic start. 32nd minute and North Macedonia are down to 10 men. Straight red. Shocking challenge. We are looking very comfortable and can't see us slipping now. Its not been a great half of football but we see Che Adams bag his hattrick. Slightly annoying to concede to 10 men. Ryan Christie gives us a nice icing moment. Pure domination.

Wasn't a long wait until the next International Break. A big World Cup Qualifier then a nice chance to tick another Country off the list. Sounds good to me! Laidlaw I believe in. He's the future so why would I pick McBurnie? Guy isn't at Mansfield anymore so I'm not bothered. Gunn comes back into the fray but its Kelly at the moment. Johnson might get the friendly. You'll notice (it might have happened before and I've only just noticed) McTominay finally got his move. Hopefully he will play more. Couple of people over 30 here but I'm not ready to look for replacements. They still have something to give. Che Adams scoring reckon is brilliant. Laidlaw will probably play in the friendly.

It seemed like a pointless goal when 4-1 down but it turned into one of Che Adams biggest.

World Cup 2026 Qualifying France (h) This could be pain! I'm not expecting anything from this game other than to keep it close maybe. We are forced into some changes. Welsh goes RB while Patterson goes to LB. McTominay comes into CB. Che Adams takes his rightful place up top with Armstrong starting. Wish me luck! Well done Mr Vincent this interview is over. Idiot. First time they come forward. Mbappe forces a save but it falls straight to an attacker who slots it home. Pain. Billy Gilmour! From the Spot! From nothing really. We. Are. Level! Its no surprise that France have looked the most dangerous with their attacks but end of the day we are level and we have a chance of a huge result. We also have a chance of a spanking still... France show their class and we can't grumble its been coming. I like Che Adams but he ain't no Mbappe! Well you know what. We didn't deserve to beat Romania 4-0 and we don't deserve to lose this one by this scoreline. So easy come easy go! Last goal winner right?! Never mind. Oh well it was certainly entertaining! So now we are where I expected us to finish I can look at the other table to see the lay of the land... Right now things are looking good. One more game against both Romania and North Macedonia, both at home and I think we will comfortably qualify for the World Cup.

It burns!

World Cup 2026 Qualifying Romania (a) This is a repeat of our very first fixture. We lost then but I'm feeling a bit more confident this time around. We are favourites but its close. Its a big game in terms of finishing 2nd. If we win it then we are pretty much there I think. No surprises in the team apart from Che Adams going on the wing while Rory gets his debut. Its a gamble/experiment. Oh my John McGinn! A stunning goal. Corner is headed away but it falls straight to McGinn who curls a beaut into the top corner. Its not been a great game at all. But we lead thanks to a moment of magic. The experiment was unsuccessful. A lovely counter and its a brilliant ball through from John McGinn and the sub Armstrong slots home. Billy Gilmore with a brilliant free kick that hit the post. Che Adams first to react to slot into an open net. Well this is icing. I don't think we deserve this high of a score but I'm not one to complain! Christie with the goal. I was not expecting this in the slightest. What a win. Another Country ticked off the list!

Romania and France up this Window. A bit tricker than the last one! Feel sorry for Hickey, its the one position we just don't need! Murray Johnson returns but it will be Liam Kelly adding to his cap haul. I've not settled on a Number 1 all save otherwise Kelly would have more caps than 14! There are a lot of players who could miss the France game! Leon King will probably see his first cap. Fraser returns again. Usual midfield I think. We have a good few youngsters coming through with Rory MacLeod being the most excisting. Che Adams will be the starter though for obvious reasons. We are going to be struggling in CB I think. We lose a starter.

World Cup 2026 Qualifier Faroe Islands (a) Back to back games against the Faroes and more of the same please. Pretty much expected. An enforced change. Che Adams injured. Dembele called up in his place but its Laidlaw who gets the start after his goal. Faith immediately paid. Laidlaw with a lovely chip over an advancing keeper. Tierney with a rare goal. Lovely finish across the keeper. Turnbull makes it 2 in 2 for him. It was always going to be tough for the Faroes. Professional job so far. Token goal it appears. Do not adjust your device. It is exactly the same score as the last game. We were denied even more icing, which is fine, we were full. So far so good. France didn't play at all this break so it gave us a chance to open a lead but lets face it...it won't last.

World Cup 2026 Qualifier Faroe Islands (h) We are heavy favourites. Another chance to tick a Country off as well. I've given Ed McGinty his debut but other than that it looks like a very familiar line up. Got to win these games, can't make any mistakes. Hampden was getting nervy but finally Christie heads home. Turnbull fires home a wonderful free kick to double the lead and give us a nice cushion. Icing on the cake there. McGinn with a stunning solo effort. We are in complete control. Great first half. Laidlaw comes off the bench to score his first Scotland goal. They deserve it based on the second half. Job once again done. Tick.

Well I tried. Scott Wright comes in to fill his usual slot.