Scotland Men's Football Team

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Paul McGinn is backing Motherwell defensive partner Stephen Welsh to play his way into Scotland's World Cup squad. (Scottish Sun), external

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Billy Gilmour has given Scotland head coach Steve Clarke a welcome boost for the March friendlies against Japan and Ivory Coast by making his Napoli comeback in Sunday's 2-2 draw with Roma.

The 24-year-old midfielder was missing for three-and-a-half months after surgery on the groin problem that caused him to miss the final round of qualifying games as Scotland clinched a place at this summer's World Cup.

Gilmour came off the bench on 79 minutes at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with the hosts trailing 2-1.

He immediately played a key role in the Napoli equaliser with his smart pass starting a move which was finished off by Alisson Santos.

Napoli stay third in Serie A but the reigning champions now trail Inter Milan by 11 points.

Morocco are set to enlist a secret weapon for playing Scotland in this summer's World Cup - by hiring Spanish legend Andres Iniesta as their technical director. (Glasgow Times), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

The Scottish FA has announced the trial of a singing section for home matches at Hampden Park this year. (The National), external

Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin has promised Scotland fans they will not have to fork out ludicrous sums of money for tickets again when they co-host the next European Championships after the sky-high ticket prices for this summer's World Cup. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay is happy at Napoli but dreams of, sooner or later, returning to the Premier League and former club Manchester United are leading the way as English clubs look to entice the 29-year-old back home. (Tutto Mercato Web), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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We asked for your thoughts after Scotland landed Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia in the next edition of the Nations League.

Here's what some of you had to say:

James: That's a good draw for us, we should certainly be capable of winning the group or no worse than second.

Arron: Second place good. Disappointed with Switzerland, really wanted Bosnia.

Alex: Scotland's group is winnable but the Swiss will put up a good fight, however I think Scotland will comfortably top it.

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Elliot Watt says it would be a "dream" to play for Scotland as the Motherwell midfielder looks to recapture the form he felt had him pushing for a call-up.

The 25-year-old missed five weeks with a muscle injury before playing 45 minutes in Motherwell's 1-1 draw against Rangers on Wednesday.

Watt has been one of the most influential players in the Steelmen's stunning season in which they sit fourth and have lost just four times in 33 matches.

"Listen, it would be a dream come true to get into the [Scotland] squad one day. I'd be lying if I sat here and said that it hadn't crossed my mind at all," said Watt.

"It is something that I think about and, the level I was playing at before the injury, I felt as though I maybe would have been knocking on that door and into those conversations, which was the frustrating part about the injury.

"So now it's the mindset of getting back to those levels, mainly to help the club and the journey that we're on and where we want to get to. I touched on European football, that's an aim for the club. That's where we want to get to.

"But ultimately, if that coincides with a Scotland call-up, then that would be the dream."

Before his time on the sidelines, Watt was linked with a January move to Rangers.

"I was coming off the back of winning player of the month in the league and I felt as though my form was in an amazing spot, the form of my life really," he added.

"I try to play through these little things and ultimately probably would have made it worse, I went from maybe missing one game to missing four.

"But I'm still relatively young and these are things I need to learn from quickly because ultimately it could have cost me even more."

Billy Gilmour will hand Scotland a huge World Cup boost when the midfielder returns to the Napoli squad next week after almost four months out through injury. (The Herald), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Scotland will face Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia in Group B1 in the 2026-27 Nations League.

The Scots will play each opponent home and away, with the fixtures grouped into double-headers in September, October and November.

A good showing could provide a safety net on the road to Euro 2028, which Scotland is co-hosting with England, Wales and Republic of Ireland.

All four have to go through the qualification campaign, while Uefa has set aside two places for host nations who fail to get through.

What do you make of Scotland's Nations League draw? Tell us here.