Scotland, who recently booked their place at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ with a dramatic win over Denmark in the European qualifiers, were ranked 38th in the FIFA rankings (as of 19 January), below Japan in 19th. However, the traditional European power, featuring the likes of Andy ROBERTSON (Liverpool FC) and Scott MCTOMINAY (Napoli SSC), still posed a formidable challenge. Head coach MORIYASU Hajime had anticipated a difficult encounter, noting pre-match that it would be “a very tough away fixture.” .....
EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION
NEWS / RELEASE
10MA TOPICS! [JAPAN FA]【Match Report】SAMURAI BLUE Secure Hard-Fought Victory over World Cup-Bound Scotland with Proactive Use of Substitutes and Attacking Setup
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SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Scotland in an international friendly under the KIRIN World Challenge 2026 on 28 March at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Scotland, who recently booked their place at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ with a dramatic win over Denmark in the European qualifiers, were ranked 38th in the FIFA rankings (as of 19 January), below Japan in 19th. However, the traditional European power, featuring the likes of Andy ROBERTSON (Liverpool FC) and Scott MCTOMINAY (Napoli SSC), still posed a formidable challenge. Head coach MORIYASU Hajime had anticipated a difficult encounter, noting pre-match that it would be “a very tough away fixture.” .....
NEXTBACK
Scotland, who recently booked their place at the FIFA World Cup 2026™ with a dramatic win over Denmark in the European qualifiers, were ranked 38th in the FIFA rankings (as of 19 January), below Japan in 19th. However, the traditional European power, featuring the likes of Andy ROBERTSON (Liverpool FC) and Scott MCTOMINAY (Napoli SSC), still posed a formidable challenge. Head coach MORIYASU Hajime had anticipated a difficult encounter, noting pre-match that it would be “a very tough away fixture.” .....
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