Sports Mole previews Monday’s World Cup qualification clash between Belarus and Scotland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Scotland will be bidding to record their first victory in Group C when they continue their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign with a clash against Belarus on Monday night.
Steve Clarke‘s side opened their qualification section with a goalless draw against Denmark on Friday, while Belarus suffered a 5-1 defeat to Greece, so there will be pressure on the hosts to bounce back here.
Match preview
Belarus found it difficult in their Group C clash with Greece on Friday evening, conceding four times in the first period, and it then became 5-0 just past the hour before German Barkovskiy came off the bench to net a consolation.
Carlos Alos‘ side have actually conceded nine times in their last two matches, which is concerning, but they did record three straight wins earlier this year, scoring 11 goals in the process.
Belarus have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup, so they are chasing history, while they have also never been present in the finals of a European Championship, finishing fourth in their qualification section for Euro 2024.
The last meeting between these two sides came back in 2005, when Belarus recorded a 1-0 victory in a World Cup qualifier, but Scotland lead the overall head-to-head record two wins to one.
Scotland will have been encouraged by their performance against Denmark last time out, with Steve Clarke’s side picking up a point in a goalless draw, and they will now be aiming to move onto four points in the section.
Not since 1998 have Scotland been present in the finals of a World Cup, so there is plenty on the line, and they have also never managed to make it out of the group stage of this particular tournament.
Scotland have also been knocked out in the group stage of the last two European Championships, but simply making it to the finals of next summer’s World Cup would be a huge achievement for the nation.
Clarke’s team have won two, lost two and drawn one of their five matches in 2025, and they will play five more games before the end of the year, including fixtures with Greece and Belarus in October.
Scotland will then tackle Greece and Denmark in November, and it will be fascinating to see how they perform in the section, especially as Greece were excellent in their section opener against Belarus.
Belarus World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
L
Belarus form (all competitions):
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Scotland World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
D
Scotland form (all competitions):
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Team News
Belarus could bring Barkovskiy into their XI on Monday following his goal off the bench last time out.
The home side have not reported any injury problems following their clash with Greece, but head coach Alos is expected to resist the temptation to completely shuffle his pack.
Max Ebong has five goals for the national side, and he is again likely to feature in an attacking spot, while Pavel Pavlyuchenko will continue between the sticks on Monday night.
As for Scotland, Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams featured as the front two against Denmark, and the pair, who have 18 international goals between them, should continue in the XI.
Napoli’s Scott McTominay will be a notable starter in the middle of the midfield, while John McGinn and Ryan Christie should also feature in the starting side for the visitors.
Lewis Ferguson should also be in the XI, in addition to Rangers centre-back John Souttar.
Belarus possible starting lineup:
Pavlyuchenko; Pigas, Martynovich, Zabelin, Pechenin; Yablonskiy, Korzun; Gromyko, Ebong, Kovalev; Barkovskiy
Scotland possible starting lineup:
Gunn; Hickey, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; McGinn, McTominay, Ferguson, Christie; Adams, Dykes
We say: Belarus 1-2 Scotland
This would be a huge win for Scotland if they can pull it off, and we are backing Clarke’s side to edge a close game on Monday evening in order to move onto four points in the section.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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