Scotland take on history-making minnows Curacao at Hampden in their final home match before jetting off to their first World Cup since 1998. Boss Steve Clarke last week named his 26-man squad for this summer’s finals, where Scotland will face Brazil , Morocco and Haiti in Group C , and they have convened at Lesser Hampden to prepare for Saturday’s farewell friendly.
The Scots will then only have one more match, against Bolivia in New Jersey, to finetune plans before facing Haiti - who play in the same CONCACAF federation as Curacao on June 14. Curacao thrashed Haiti 5-1 en route to claiming World Cup qualification for the first time, securing a place in the record books in the process.
The tiny Caribbean island, with a population of just over 150,000 and a land area of 171 square miles, are the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup and are 100/1 outsiders to top a group which includes Germany , Ecuador and Ivory Coast . They are 9/1 to beat Scotland in the first meeting between the nations and will be reliant on the experience of veteran coach Dick Advocaat , who managed Rangers between 1998-2001.
Curacao have lost once in 10 games but were beaten 2-0 by China in March and we’re expecting another defeat, with our opening Scotland v Curacao prediction being a home win with over 2.5 goals in total @ 1/2 .
Betting Odds
Scotland vs Curacao Betting Odds – International Friendly
Result | Odds | Chance |
|---|---|---|
Scotland | 2/9 | 81.8% |
Curacao | 9/1 | 10% |
Draw | 4/1 | 20% |
*Odds are correct at the time of writing, but subject to change.
Scotland are the 2/9 favourites to get back to winning ways against Curacao , who are 9/1 to cause a pre-World Cup upset, with 4/1 for the game to end in a draw.
How to Watch
How to Watch Scotland vs Curacao
The international friendly is scheduled to begin at 13:00 BST on Saturday and will be shown live on BBC One Scotland .
Form Guides
Scotland Form Guide
Scotland’s 4-2 win over Denmark in November which secured their long-awaited return to the World Cup will go down as one of the greatest games in the team’s history. However, things have not gone so well since, with 1-0 friendly defeats to Japan and Ivory Coast at Hampden and Hill Dickinson Stadium respectively.
The team were booed off following the Japan loss and the Tartan Army will be expecting a better performance on Saturday against a nation ranked 82nd in the world. Scotland to be leading at half-time and full-time is 4/5 in the Scotland v Curacao odds , and that’s what we’re expecting to happen.
Curacao Form Guide
Curacao , formerly known as the Netherlands Antilles , booked a maiden trip to the World Cup after finishing unbeaten in qualification. The Blue Wave cruised through their opening phase after winning all four group matches by a combined 15-2 scoreline, including that rout over second-placed Haiti .
That saw them through to the third round, where a goalless draw with closest challengers Jamaica in their final match saw Curacao finish one point ahead of the Reggae Boyz and seal their World Cup place. Advocaat , who stepped down in February but then returned earlier this month following Fred Rutten’s resignation, is now set to become the World Cup's oldest coach at the age of 78 and the Dutchman has his work cut out, with four-time champions Germany first up.
He has some players who will be familiar to British fans at his disposal, with the Bacuna brothers Leandro and Juninho having between them played for the likes of Aston Villa , Rangers and Birmingham , while Sheffield United’s Tahith Chong and Sontje Hansen of Middlesbrough are also in Curacao’s World Cup squad . Curacao averaged almost three goals a game in qualifying and you can get EVS for BTTS at Hampden , but we’re not expecting a massively high-scoring encounter so a 2-0 home win @ 11/2 looks tempting in our Scotland vs Curacao tips .
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Betting Tips
Scotland vs Curacao Betting Tips
Scotland to win & over 2.5 goals @ 1/2
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