What channel is Scotland v Japan? TV and free live stream for World Cup warm-up friendly

Steve Clarke’s side are back in action for the first time since the historic 4-2 win over Denmark in November that clinched World Cup qualification for first time in 28 years.

The Tartan Army will descend on the United States of America in June for group stage matches against Haiti and Morocco in Boston, Massachusetts, before facing Brazil in Miami, Florida, as the team bids to reach the knockout stages of the tournament for the first time ever.

Before then, Scotland will play a number of warm-up fixtures, starting with the March double-header against Japan and Ivory Coast, with the latter game taking place Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday.

Japan were the first nation to secure their World Cup spot through the qualification rounds, booking their place in March last year following a 2–0 victory over Bahrain. Hajime Moriyasu’s side, who are ranked 19th in the Fifa world rankings, 19 places above Scotland, claimed a notable result in October by beating Brazil for the first time in their history after coming from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in Tokyo.

The Samarai Blues are making their first ever visit to Hampden with all three previous meetings having taken place on Japanese soil. Two of them ended goalless in 1995 and 2006 – the other was a 2-0 win for Japan in October 2009.

Scotland v Japan match details

The International Friendly match between Scotland and Japan takes place at Hampden Park, Glasgow on Saturday, March 28, 2026. Kick-off is 5pm.

Scotland v Japan TV channel

The game will be broadcast live free-to-air on BBC One Scotland with coverage starting at 4.30pm.

Scotland v Japan live stream

The match is available to stream for free via the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Scotland v Japan team news

Scotland are without veteran goalkeeper Craig Gordon due to a shoulder injury with Hearts team-mate Lawrence Shankland also left out of the squad after only returning from two months out with a hamstring strain in the past week. First-choice right-back Aaron Hickey is also absent after picking up a hamstring injury with Brentford while the March internationals have come too early for winger Ben Gannon-Doak, who is back training with Bournemouth after a long-term hamstring injury.

Japan are missing three key men for the game at Hampden with Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo, Monaco midfielder Takumi Minamino and Ajax defender Takehiro Tomiyasu all ruled out. There is SPFL representation in the Japan squad with Celtic’s Daizen Maeda expected to feature.

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