International Friendly: Scotland v USA match preview
A look ahead to the international friendly fixture at Hampden Park
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Louise Thomas
Editor
Scotland take on USA on Friday night looking to avenge a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the same opponents last year.
Coming among the final matches of the Craig Levein era, that fixture caught the Scots amidst a run of bad results and they will be optimistic of a more even game this time around. The team have experienced a revival of sorts under new manager Gordon Strachan, and rose 28 places to 35th in the most recent Fifa world rankings.
However their upturn in form came too late to influence their attempt to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, and they must now turn their attentions the European Championships in 2016.
They face a side tomorrow that suffered no such problems in getting to Brazil, and qualified with ease. The USA come into the match in good form, having finished top of their Central American group with 22 points from 10 games, and winning this summer’s Gold Cup.
KICK-OFF: Friday, 8.05pm
PAST MEETINGS…
USA 5 (Donovan 3, Bradley, Jones) Scotland 1 (Cameron OG), International Friendly, May 2012
Scotland 1 (Webster) USA 1 (Wolff), International Friendly, November 2005
STATS…
Scotland and the USA have met six times, each winning two games alongside two draws.
The game will be the last football match to be played at Hampden Park for a year, as the stadium undergoes a conversion to an athletic stadium for next year’s Commonwealth Games.
The USA have won 15 of their last 16 international fixtures.
Scotland have lost four of their games in 2013, whilst the USA have lost three games this calendar year. This comes despite the fact that the USA have played over double the number of games that Scotland have – lining up 21 times this year compared to Scotland’s eight.
Last year’s 5-1 loss to the USA in Florida was Scotland’s worst loss since a 6-0 thumping at the hands of the Netherlands in 2003.
ODDS…
Scotland to win: 3.05
USA to win: 2.6
Draw: 3.4
TV: Live on Sky Sports 2 at 8.05pm, highlights on BBC2 Scotland at 11.10pm
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