Scotland World Cup draw reaction: Training base and friendlies hunt begins as two players relish group

Head coach Steve Clarke and his players discovered on Friday evening after the draw in Washington, DC that Scotland will be in Group C. They will open against the Haitians on June 13, face the Moroccans on June 19 and then the Brazilians on June 24.

FIFA will confirm venue and exact kick-off times on Saturday evening, but after finding out who they will be playing in Americas, Clarke and some of the squad had this to say:

Head coach Steve Clarke

“It’s a good draw. I didn’t want any European teams, I wanted teams from different continents and we got that. Three great teams to play against and something to look forward to next summer.

“You see how the draw was going on and teams were getting pushed down and I thought we were going to end up in that section. It’s a great group.

“Brazil is always a good game and it’s nice to get them. But Morocco is also a tough opponent and it’s two teams who, the last time we were at a World Cup, were teams that beat us. So hopefully this time we can do a little bit better against them.

“I think you look at every group and think you can qualify from it. That’s what we try and do every time we get to a major tournament. We’ll find out next summer, won’t we?

“On the back of this draw we will have a rough idea of where we are going to be based, so we need to look at bases. I’ll probably stay out here for another six or seven days to look at one or two hotels and training camps and maybe somewhere we can base ourselves for the tournament.

“So there’s quite a bit of work to be done before Christmas. After Christmas we’ll be tidying up friendlies and preparations into next year. There’s lots to do and lots to look forward to.”

Midfielder Ryan Christie

“It’s exciting. We have to go over there wanting to try and prove a point. We’re not just there to make up the numbers. We’re wanting to go and compete and get through the group phase.

“Two out of the three games are going to be massively tough and even Haiti, nobody gets to a World Cup without being a decent team. Teams we’re not used to playing. You can’t ask for more exciting games.

“It’s the same core of players that’s managed to qualify for this World Cup. Hopefully, we can go this one step further this time. We go into that tournament a little bit as the underdogs. It suits us. Hopefully these other teams don’t know what to expect and we can surprise them a little bit.”

Striker Lyndon Dykes

“Tough draw. Obviously, you’ve got massive teams in there but I don’t think it’s something we should shy away (from). It’s the World Cup – you’re going to get hard teams. We’ve faced hard teams before, so we should be going into it full of confidence.

“I think so many people and so many of the boys were probably saying before the draw came out, ‘I hope we get Brazil’, because a lot of us growing up playing FIFA and what not, and whoever picked Brazil it was too unfair because of the players they had. It’s been like that for generations.

“So it’s going to be iconic and it makes us even more determined to prove everyone wrong and maybe be an underdog.

“And what a story that would be to beat them.”