Scotland vs Belgium 10/09/19

10 September 2019

Scotland’s hopes of reaching European Championship via qualifying group are hanging by a thread as they welcome Belgium to Hampden Park hopeful that they can perform a miracle.

Currently sitting six points adrift of the qualifying positions, the hosts have lost three of five UEFA European Championship qualifying (ECQ) games (W2, L3), including the last one against Russia at home by a 2-1 scoreline. Four of Scotland’s five matches of Group I have produced precisely three goals with three of them seeing the opener scored inside the opening 15 minutes. One thing that can comfort the home fans is that Steve Clarke’s men have lost just one of their last ten competitive home games (W6, D3, L1), with four of their triumphs in that period seeing Scotland beat their rivals to nil. However, defeating Belgium appears to be complicated for the hosts, as Scotland lost all five of their previous H2Hs without scoring a single goal across those clashes.

Meanwhile, the visitors seem to be cruising towards their second successive European Championship appearance, as they sit at the top of Group I with five wins from as many ECQ outings. All of their qualifying victories have seen Belgium score two or more goals while allowing just one in total. What’s more, De Rode Duivels have won nine of ten halves of ECQ football played so far, scoring the opener inside the first 15 minutes of the game on three occasions in the process. If that’s not enough to consider them big favorites here, Roberto Martinez’s men have won 11 triumphs in their last 15 trips, friendlies and the 2018 FIFA World Cup included (W11, D2, L2).