Sadly this may not have very much qualification bearing on Group A on the road to Brazil 2014. Scotland are bottom of the pile with just two points from four games, with Wales right above them on three points. That is a long way back off Belgium and Croatia who are occupying the top two spots with ten points each. After Wales struck back from a goal down in the first meeting to beat Scotland, will Scotland be able to strike back themselves on home turf and drag themselves off the bottom of the table?
Scotland v Wales Betting Odds at WinningFT (BETMY)
Scotland 1.76, Draw 3.41, Wales 4.26
Scotland v Wales Recommended Bet:
Can Scotland stop Gareth Bale? That could be the factor that decides this match. The Spurs winger scored two goals in Cardiff to guide Wales to victory when they met last October. With the immense form that he has been showing, he could be the key to the game. Scotland don’t have a particular plan to man mark him, Gordon Strachan’s men just want to take firm control of the game and push Wales back. Strachan has only had one game in charge, leading Scotland to a 1-0 friendly win over Estonia, a game which they should have won by a bigger margin. Still, a win is a win, but it highlights again their problems in front of goal. Scotland have netted just twice in their four matches in Group A so, which has left them struggling at the foot of the table. Do they have enough to edge to a win? If so, it will likley be only by a one goal margin.
Scotland may take confidence from Wales having lost both of their away matches so far in the group. The Welsh lost away to Croatia and took a 6-1 hammering in Serbia. The Welsh defence is probably the weaker of the two nations, but then they have a genuine match winner in Bale, something that Scotland will be envious of. Wales themselves have scored just three goals in heir four matches for far, and have a far worse defensive record than the Scots. With neither really going to make an impact in qualification after such poor starts, there is at least some pride to play for, and a chance to get some momentum going. Wales won their most recent match, 2-1 win over Austria in an international friendly. Following Friday’s match, Wales then host the powerful Croatian side while Scotland go to Serbia.
Scotland v Wales Head To Head
A nice long history to look back over between these two sides. There have been 106 meetings played between the two before and Scotland lead commandingly with 61 wins to 22 by Wales. There have been seven previous FA Cup qualifying matches, with Scotland leading the way against with three wins to two. The most recent coming together was that 2-1 win for Wales in Cardiff in October of 2012. The last meeting between them in Scotland was in 1997, an International Friendly held in Kilmarnock, wich Wales won 1-0. That was the same result in their last World Cup qualifier held in Scotland, a 1-0 win for Wales in Glasgow during the the 1986 World Cup qualifiers.
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