Cyprus v Scotland - Match Thread

[csinclair]

I feel like he'll go with the same lineup as against Georgia (Gilmour & McGregor with McTom and McGinn supporting Dykes) with possibly the only change being Adams instead of Dykes depending on his fitness.

This is the kind of game Gilmour could just dominate and with Dykes/Adams plus Mctom, McGinn, Robbo & Hickey all going forward there's plenty in attack

Edited September 7, 2023 by csinclair

[ThistleWhistle]

Think it cools down by 10pm over there - Google has it at 27 degrees.  Would humidity be a factor?

 

Nervous about this one but looking at the team on paper should have enough.  

[Ally Bongo]

1 hour ago, ThistleWhistle said:

 

 

Nervous about this one but looking at the team on paper should have enough.  

Looking at the results of Cyprus on soccerway they are horseshit

Only noteable home win was 1-0 over Greece this time last year (cough)

[Texas Pete]

5 hours ago, Tartan blood said:

I seem to remremember Wales winning their first 4 games in a qualifying campaign and still didn't qualify. Around 2004ish. That is pretty much the only reason there is even a slither of doubt that we'll qualify. 

However, it's not like our nearest rivals are flying. Plus, there are 2 teams that qualify. Not one. 

If we beat Cyprus, I think we know it's over and we can start fantasising about the tournament. (Disclosure: I already believe we've qualified)

If we lose tomorrow night we could be in big trouble as we would be unlikely to take anything in Spain or Georgia if we can’t win in Cyprus and it could come down to our last game against Norway where our players would be nervous wrecks. 

If we draw tomorrow then it probably wouldn’t be the end of the world as a draw in Georgia as well would probably be enough if Spain do the business against Norway and Georgia. 

If we win tomorrow then it would take a horrendous set of results to go against for us to not qualify.

Please just let us win tomorrow. It’s not too much to ask is it? 

[saintsparky]

In a game like this, Gilmour and McGregor should absolutely run the game...they are both a class above anything that the Cypriots have..

[Texas Pete]

7 minutes ago, saintsparky said:

In a game like this, Gilmour and McGregor should absolutely run the game...they are both a class above anything that the Cypriots have..

I haven’t seen much of Celtic this season but McGregor has been poor by all accounts although he looked OK against Rangers.

He will definitely start though so hopefully he has a good game. If our midfield controls the game we should win. 

[todd]

Why is my excitement turning to nervousness?  Hopefully be back to excitement by kick off 

[killiefaetheferry]

So, basically, if we lose the next 4 games,  we've shat the bed?

[Texas Pete]

6 minutes ago, todd said:

Why is my excitement turning to nervousness?  Hopefully be back to excitement by kick off 

Probably because we normally balls these situations up?

This time it does feel different because of the run we are on and we have a 100% record against Cyprus but I must admit I’m a bit nervous myself. 

[Dillinger]

Reading 2 pages of folk being nervous isn't helping with my nerves!

[Texas Pete]

9 minutes ago, killiefaetheferry said:

So, basically, if we lose the next 4 games,  we've shat the bed?

We could still qualify if we lose the next 4 games. It would take a good few results to go our way though and there would still be a whiff of shitey sheets about it. 

Mental that we could still finish second on 12 points and we could finish 3rd on 16 points. 

[Templeton_Peck]

                             Gunn

              Hendry Porteous. Tierney

Hickey.   Gilmour     Mcgregor     Robbo

             Mctominay              Mcginn

                            Adams

Patterson and Christie first on if we not creating enough chances.

[Burj_Alba]

Some pretty decent company for the big man on the Euro top scorers there.

[Caledonian Craig]

7 hours ago, Texas Pete said:

 

Mental that we could still finish second on 12 points and we could finish 3rd on 16 points. 

Prretty certain the latter is now impossible as Spain, Norway and Georgia all must take points off each other and they have all dropped points already.

[Tartan blood]

8 hours ago, Templeton_Peck said:

                             Gunn

              Hendry Porteous. Tierney

Hickey.   Gilmour     Mcgregor     Robbo

             Mctominay              Mcginn

                            Adams

Patterson and Christie first on if we not creating enough chances.

You could swap Hickey for Patterson, Adams for Dykes, Porteous for McKenna, and Hendry for Souttar and the quality would not drop at all. What a great position to be in. 

Not only is this likely to be the midfield tonight, but I reckon this will be the midfield 4 we'll use at the Euros (if we get there). I'm already mentally writing out my Euros 26 man squad. 

[Texas Pete]

4 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Prretty certain the latter is now impossible as Spain, Norway and Georgia all must take points off each other and they have all dropped points already.

No it’s very much still possible. 

If we beat Cyprus and draw with Georgia and lose our other 2 games we would have 16 points. 

If Spain lose to Norway but win the rest of their games they would win the group with 18 points. 

If Norway win their remaining games and beat us by 2 clear goals at Hampden they would finish on 16 points and qualify in second place ahead of us on head to head record. 

A similar outcome with Georgia qualifying ahead of us with us both on 16 points is also possible but far less likely as they would need to win in Norway and beat Spain once. 

[StirlingEgg]

45 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

No it’s very much still possible. 

If we beat Cyprus and draw with Georgia and lose our other 2 games we would have 16 points. 

If Spain lose to Norway but win the rest of their games they would win the group with 18 points. 

If Norway win their remaining games and beat us by 2 clear goals at Hampden they would finish on 16 points and qualify in second place ahead of us on head to head record. 

A similar outcome with Georgia qualifying ahead of us with us both on 16 points is also possible but far less likely as they would need to win in Norway and beat Spain once. 

That's quite a sobering read. I'm often amazed at the detail some folk's brains can accommodate! 

[Texas Pete]

1 minute ago, StirlingEgg said:

That's quite a sobering read. I'm often amazed at the detail some folk's brains can accommodate! 

It’s not that difficult to figure out if you can be bothered doing it. I have a fear of it all going tits up so I like to know the permutations. 😂

The chances of all those results going against us are pretty slim to say the least. 

I’m actually pretty confident 14 points will be enough but a win tonight should all but seal our place in Germany. 

[ceudmilefailte]

Think the problem is we don't think Norway will beat Spain, if they do it could easily come down to a winner takes all game at Hampden. 

[ceudmilefailte]

13 minutes ago, StirlingEgg said:

That's quite a sobering read. I'm often amazed at the detail some folk's brains can accommodate! 

I always use a dropped points approach rather than a points won one. Not sure if this makes me even more negative than others. 

Edited September 8, 2023 by ceudmilefailte

[StirlingEgg]

3 minutes ago, Texas Pete said:

It’s not that difficult to figure out if you can be bothered doing it. I have a fear of it all going tits up so I like to know the permutations. 😂

The chances of all those results going against us are pretty slim to say the least. 

I’m actually pretty confident 14 points will be enough but a win tonight should all but seal our place in Germany. 

Hope so then. At the risk of stating the obvious, it would be nice to get to a point where it doesn't all rest on the nervy dying seconds of the last qualifier (even when there's been an exciting finish). There must be a balance between that and already talking about a worthy opponent in the quarter/semi finals 👀

[Texas Pete]

9 minutes ago, ceudmilefailte said:

Think the problem is we don't think Norway will beat Spain, if they do it could easily come down to a winner takes all game at Hampden. 

If Norway couldn’t beat us in Oslo when they were 1-0 up with 4 minutes to go I very much doubt they will beat Spain.

I know football doesn’t actually work like that and Spain clearly have their own issues but if Norway go from averaging 1 point per match in the first half of the campaign to averaging 3 points per game over their next 4 matches it will be an amazing turn around. 

If we win tonight Norway will be under all sorts of pressure for the rest of the campaign. I wouldn’t be surprised if they dropped points to Georgia on Tuesday never mind beating Spain. 

[Big Ramy 1314]

1 hour ago, Texas Pete said:

No it’s very much still possible. 

If we beat Cyprus and draw with Georgia and lose our other 2 games we would have 16 points. 

If Spain lose to Norway but win the rest of their games they would win the group with 18 points. 

If Norway win their remaining games and beat us by 2 clear goals at Hampden they would finish on 16 points and qualify in second place ahead of us on head to head record. 

A similar outcome with Georgia qualifying ahead of us with us both on 16 points is also possible but far less likely as they would need to win in Norway and beat Spain once. 

Aye, Aye, Aye..Intae these Bastaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaards !!!! Get it fuckin done Scotland !! Nae muckin about !!! ⚽⚽⚽🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪💪💪

[Ally Bongo]

It's got 0-0, 1-0 or 1-1 written all over it ..............

[er yir macaroon]

18 hours ago, Caledonian Craig said:

Hmmm no not so keen on that set up - a little too lacking in attacking options in my opinion.

Not if Patterson replaces Hickey.