Now it's real - Scotland head into final act before World Cup mania commences
Bolivia friendly offers one final chance for some players - but this is a damage limitation exercise too
This is where World Cup fever starts to get real for Scotland, their first match on American soil and their last before the competition kicks off.
In the shadow of Newark International Airport, Scotland take on Bolivia at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey on Saturday at 9pm BST. It is the final act of preparation for head coach Steve Clarke before the Scots embark on their Group C campaign.
Scotland’s World Cup hopes won’t get lift off here, nor will they be grounded. Friendlies are not purely about results, as our columnist Pat Nevin sagely pointed out. Just ask Spain, after they drew 1-1 with Iraq, and France, who were stunned 2-1 by Ivory Coast on Thursday night.
Those two aforementioned nations are among the favourites to lift the trophy on July 19. These games are for honing match fitness, for solidifying relationships on the pitch, for acclimatising to the conditions and for some players to stake a claim for when the real action takes place.
Scotland defeated Curacao 4-1 last weekend at Hampden. They struggled with the Caribbean nation until Jurgen Locadia was sent off when the visitors led by a goal. After that, Scotland took control - albeit Clarke would have wanted to play against a full compliment of opponents.
Bolivia are largely an unknown foe. The South American nation missed out on a place at the World Cup in March when they fell at the final hurdle, losing to Iraq in the Intercontinental play-off final. These matches are largely inconsequential to them and away from their capital La Paz, where altitude plays a major factor, they have a limited record.
Scotland have never played Bolivia before and are taking on a South American country for the first time since 2018, when they lost 2-0 to Peru in Lima. From the starting XI that night, Scott McKenna, John McGinn, Scott McTominay and Kenny McLean remain at the forefront of the 2026 edition.
Back then they were at the beginning of their international journey under then manager Alex McLeish. Now Scotland have a core of experienced players who are at the peak of their powers. They will be keen to take a positive result into the World Cup.
Scotland face Haiti next weekend before further Group C assignments against Morocco and Brazil. Bolivia are probably closest to the Haitians in terms of ability and this is likely to be a dress rehearsal for that game in Foxborough on June 14.
A big night for Gannon-Doak?
Clarke probably has a fair idea of what his team will be when the World Cup comes around and part of this task will be to get more minutes into players shorn of game-time during the course of the club season.
Goalkeeper Angus Gunn was given the No 1 shirt earlier in the week and is set to get the nod over Craig Gordon. Gunn hasn’t played a game of football since Scotland’s 1-0 defeat by Japan in late March and featured once for Nottingham Forest in 2026. He needs minutes, and they will surely come against Bolivia.
The same can be said of Scotland’s first-choice right-back Aaron Hickey, who has been addled by injuries for two years now, and also winger Ben Gannon-Doak, whose first season at Bournemouth was disrupted by a hamstring issue. Both men played the first half against Curacao and looked rusty. They need this match too.
While Hickey looks nailed-on to start against Haiti, Gannon-Doak faces serious competition from Rangers’ in-form teenager Findlay Curtis for a spot on the wing. “If you watched the game at the weekend, you would have seen that Ben is obviously lacking minutes and looks a little bit rusty,” admitted Clarke earlier this week. “So against Bolivia it will be about trying to get more minutes into him and seeing if he can just slow down and relax a little bit on the part of the game that he needs to work on.”
Curtis blossomed during a loan spell at Kilmarnock under Neil McCann and has been impressing Clarke in training. “Findlay has come off the end of the season in a totally different situation,” continued Clarke. “He’s on a high, he’s doing this and that and his goal at the weekend might have been scruffy, but he scored it because he’s touch-sharp.
“So he’s in a great place. He’s very confident and he’s a really good boy. I really like him.”
For many, Scotland’s hopes against Haiti rest on creativity from out wide. Gannon-Doak appeared the only option with his pace and trickery. His end product needs work, that is clear, but Curtis’ emergence at least gives Clarke options.
The other quandaries for Clarke include who to start in attack. Lawrence Shankland is the form striker with two goals against Curacao. Che Adams is available to face Bolivia and the Torino hitman, so often Scotland’s main No 9, could do with a strong showing to remind everyone of his capabilities.
The big request from Clarke and the Tartan Army is clear, however: no more injuries. Midfielder Billy Gilmour’s knee issues, sustained in fairly innocuous fashion against Curacao, has ended his World Cup chances. His loss is Tyler Fletcher’s gain, and the 19-year-old Manchester United midfielder should see more minutes in Harrison. Clarke should be mindful of keeping his biggest guns away from the front line.
The Sports Illustrated Stadium holds 25,000 and it’s going to be warm and muggy, 25C with the threat of thunderstorms ahead of kick-off. In that regard, this will be good preparation for Scotland against an opponent ranked 76 in the world, 33 places beneath Clarke’s men. This doesn’t need to be a damaging assignment ahead of three weeks - hopefully more - of World Cup mania.
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