Scotland Men's Football Team

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Ayoub El Kaabi did a Scott McTominay with a stunning overhead kick as Scotland's World Cup opponents, Morocco, opened the Africa Cup of Nations with a 2-0 victory over Comoros in Rabat.

The win over the Indian Ocean islanders in front of a crowd of 60,180 extends the Atlas Lions' world record run of consecutive victories to 19.

Real Madrid winger Brahim Diaz had fired home 10 minutes after the break from 15 yards following a frustrating first half for the tournament hosts at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

And Olympiacos striker El Kaabi made sure of the three points as he rose to athletically power home a Anass Salah-Eddine cross after 74 minutes in a similar style to McTominay's famous strike in Scotland's World Cup-qualifying win over Denmark.

Diaz had won a 10th-minute penalty, but goalkeeper Yannick Pandor beat away Soufiane Rahimi's spot kick.

That was 11th-ranked Morocco's only attempt on target against the side ranked 108th in the world until Diaz struck to break the deadlock.

Standard Liege striker Rafiki Said was through on goal moments later with a chance to equalise, but Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou stopped the effort with his legs.

However, Pandor saved from Noussair Mazraoui and Jawad El Yamiq in quick succession before El Kaabi's stunning second and another fine stop from the goalkeeper denied Youssef En-Nesyri a third.

Mali and Zambia play the second game in Group A on Monday, with Walid Regragui's hosts next facing Mali on Boxing Day.

Getting back in the Scotland squad is 29-year-old Hull City striker Oli McBurnie's "ultimate goal". (Sun), external

San Diego forward Lewis Morgan, 29, has "both eyes" on Scotland's World Cup campaign. (Sunday Mail), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hibs midfielder John Mulligan believes a place in Scotland's World Cup squad is a realistic goal.

Mulligan, 23, was called into the national squad earlier in the year but has yet to earn his first cap at senior level. He did feature for Scotland Under-21s from 2022-24, scoring twice in 16 appearances.

"Yes, I think so," he said.

"I obviously got called up, not the last one but the one before that. It was good just being among it.

"You see the standards set and it just makes you more hungry. It makes you want to get in there again. That's definitely something I want, to be in that squad.

"Firstly, I need to do the performances here, that's the most important thing. If that happens, then that's a dream come true. You can't look at that just now, you need to focus. It's a long way to go until [next year's World Cup].

"If I can get on that plane, then that's great but right now, the most important thing is the games for Hibs."

Hibs head coach David Gray believes there is more to come from Mulligan after the midfielder's impressive form following his summer arrival on a free from Dundee.

"He's still very young, he's got a lot of growing and developing to come," said Gray before Saturday's home Premiership match against Dundee United.

"He's settled in really quick in terms of coming to a new club, settled in well. [He's had the] benefit of having played in the league and having a little bit of an understanding of what he's like as a character, and as a boy, because you do your work, speaking to players he's played with, and coaches that he's worked with before.

"So you almost get a bit of reducing the risk when you bring a player in, because I think there's always risks when you sign players, as to exactly how quickly they can settle, he's certainly one that's hit the ground running.

"He's enjoying his football, and rightly so, because of the level of performance he's doing at the minute.

"The biggest thing for us is keeping him working hard, and improving him, because there's a lot more to come for Josh, we know that."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter in Prague

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Trying to gatecrash the Scotland squad for next summer's World Cup is "a big motivator" for Aberdeen striker Kevin Nisbet.

The last of Nisbet's 11 caps came as a substitute late in the second half as the Scots defeated Georgia 2-0 in a Euro qualifier at Hampden in 2023.

"Obviously the World Cup is coming up which is a big motivator for me so it is just up to myself now to go and get myself in the squad," the 28-year-old said.

"For me it is just about getting as many goals up until maybe January and then kind of looking from there.

"I have been around the squad, I have been to the Euros, so I know how good it is. The motivation is there, I have been there and it is just about me trying to get in the squad.

"To go to a World Cup would be great but right now it is just full focus on Aberdeen."

Nisbet returned to the Dons on a three-year deal from Millwall in the summer after impressing on loan last term where he netted 14 in 38 appearances.

Nisbet has scored just twice this season, both in the past six games, and believes he is finding form after a disjointed start.

Speaking before Thursday night's Conference League dead rubber away to Sparta Prague, he said: "I think I have grown into the season.

"I came off the back of a broken pre-season as well, similar to last year, and just trying to get minutes under my belt.

"I think probably the last three or four weeks I have been putting in good performances so it has been great.

"I feel I am up to speed now, I feel I can impact games more. The longer the games go on I am not as tired, not as leggy any more, so it is going to be an interesting season."

The Scottish FA is guaranteed to bank a bumper £8.8m just for being at the World Cup for the first time in 28 years and can make it £9.35m if they can make it out of the group stage for the first time. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Hearts have had no approaches to take Craig Gordon on loan and the Scotland goalkeeper is "too important" for the Scottish Premiership leaders in any case, head coach Derek McInnes has revealed.

The 43-year-old has yet to play for the Edinburgh club this season after Alexander Schwolow cemented his place following the German's arrival from Union Berlin while Gordon was injured.

Gordon regained his Scotland place in recent World Cup qualifiers against Belarus and Denmark and will be keen for club playing time before this summer's tournament in North America.

But McInnes insisted "nobody's asked" about his availability.

"Craig's too important for us," he said. "We're fortunate we've got good goalkeepers here.

"If we want to do what we want to do this season, we want to have the strongest squad possible. I'm just glad he's fit and available and there to be called upon if we need him, because you just never know when that will be the case."

Meanwhile, McInnes had an update on the expected arrival of new signing Islam Chesnokov following the end of the Kazakhstan winger's contract with Tobol in his homeland.

"He is due in just after Christmas in the intention to bed him in for training," he said. "And hopefully the paperwork goes accordingly that we can get him available for Livingston [3 January].

"There's no guarantees with that, because we don't control that, but we're trying to tick all the boxes and jump through all the right hoops to get that to the stage."

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Former Scotland and Aberdeen defender Mikey Devlin has announced his retirement from professional football at age 32.

He had been without a club for six months after being released by Ayr United in the summer.

Devlin made his professional debut with Hamilton, where he racked up almost 150 appearances in a seven-year spell, before joining Aberdeen in 2018.

He won his three Scotland caps in October and November 2019, but was blighted by injuries in the final five years of his career, including stints at Hibernian and Livingston.

Confirming his retirement on LinkedIn, external, Devlin wrote: "After a lot of reflection and contemplation, I feel ready for it. To walk away from a job that was my dream, something I loved deeply and my identity for vast majority of my life was, and is, a challenge. That being said, not only do I feel ready, I feel excited about what's next.

"I'm incredibly proud of what I achieved in my career. Without doubt, representing my country is the highlight.

"The highs and lows are expected, to a degree, but football has the potential to take you to places mentally which you don't have the capacity to make sense of. This was certainly the greatest challenge I faced personally.

"I consider myself unbelievably fortunate to have experienced what I have throughout my 16 years as a professional. I played for brilliant clubs and worked with amazing people."

Devlin will continue as chair of PFA Scotland where he also takes on a new full-time role as head of projects, adding: "I hope my lived experience as a player can influence and guide me as I seek to support and drive change for every other footballer in Scotland."

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Scotland head coach Steve Clarke plans to reach out to Harvey Barnes' advisers early in the New Year to discuss a possible change of allegiance for the Newcastle United winger who has one senior England cap. (Scottish Sun), external

Steve Clarke has spoken with several Scotland squad members about investigating loan moves to address the issue of playing time, including Angus Gunn, but not fellow goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who is yet to feature for Hearts this season. (The Scotsman), external

Steve Clarke says he hasn't had much time to consider his future as Scotland head coach but will sit down SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell early in 2026 once the details of World Cup preparations have been rubber-stamped. (Daily Record), external

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Scotland head coach Steve Clarke has been talking to the media, covering a range of subjects.

Here's what he had to say:

The relief that followed qualification for next summer's World Cup

"It feels good. I spoke before the qualifying campaign about feeling the pressure, and I did feel the pressure because I felt that in 2022, we were good enough to go to the World Cup and we didn't manage to do it.

"Having qualified for two Euros, I knew it was a team that was qualification ready, ready to qualify for big tournaments.

"But you still have that pressure and there's always a little bit of self-doubt. So I think to eliminate that self-doubt and to feel that pressure come off my shoulders was a big thing. And yes, you're right, I'll certainly enjoy the rest of this year.

"And then going into January next year, you start worrying about logistics and process and base camps and obviously organising friendly matches and making sure that we're primed to go in what will be a really difficult World Cup section."

Plans for a base camp and what ideal friendly matches would be

"I stayed in America for a week after the draw just to go round some bases. We've still got some people out there now looking at bases. So just trying to put together a structure where we can organise a send-off game for Hampden, so a short training camp in Scotland, probably a slightly longer training camp somewhere hot, sticky and humid in America that the players can acclimatise.

"And then move into the base camp and get ready for the tournament. So there is a lot to organise and a lot to put into place. Obviously, we've got to find four friendly fixtures.

"We're working on that at the moment, but we haven't quite got the fixtures finalised. So hopefully that will come out pretty soon.

"I'd like to play one for all the different federations across the world. That would be the ideal scenario, but sometimes you don't get that ideal scenario. But we've played enough European teams, so I'd like to look at an African team, an Asian team, a team for CONCACAF. That would be the ideal preparation."

Squad size and staying loyal to a core group

"On the squad size, it will be 26. So that gives you a little bit of leeway. Obviously, I'm very loyal to the players that I've got. I don't think that's a big secret anymore.

"People know how I work. They understand. But those players that I'm loyal to also have to play well.

"They have to get their minutes on the pitch to make them an easy pick for me. But there's always space for someone else. I think I've shown across the years that I'm not afraid to bring younger players into the squad.

"I'm not afraid to change one or two players if that's what has to be done. There's still plenty of opportunities for the players to feel they're on the periphery. Their job is to go out and play well every single game, grab my attention and force their way into the squad."

Being hounded for tickets already and the unifying nature of making the World Cup

"Even now, you still get that feel-good factor. A friend of mine who's already booked his tickets, or booked his flights, he's on to me for tickets. He'll need to hold fire, because I don't have any at the minute.

"He mentioned it as World Cup fever, and this is the first time, actually coming back up for the Cup finals, the first time we've been back in Scotland since the Denmark game.

"The number of well-wishers and people that are genuinely excited that the country's qualified for a World Cup is great. And it does, it shows you the power of football and what it can do for people."

Scotland 23-year-old Josh Doig is on Nottingham Forest's shortlist as they consider left-back options, but Serie A club Sassuolo are in no rush to sell. (Scottish Sun), external

Liverpool have beaten Nottingham Forest to the signature 15-year-old Celtic centre-half Dara Jikiemi, who captains Scotland youths. (Daily Mail), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Former Scotland player Pat Nevin suggests Newcastle winger Harvey Barnes would enjoy being part of Steve Clarke's current national squad, should the 28-year-old switch allegiance from England. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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We asked you for your thoughts on Scotland's World Cup kick-off times and what your plans are for next summer.

Here's what you had to say:

Frank: Booked to go to Boston for the first two matches against Haiti and Morocco. Still to organise tickets for the matches though. Trying to get family in America to get them.

Craig: My wife's family lives in Ohio. I might take the family (two sons, aged nine and 12) for a summer holiday to visit family and then drive to Boston to one or both of the games there. Tickets would be great, but just being in the city for a few days would be an amazing experience.

Dawn: Blooming typical! We get nightmare times for all our games while England get social hours and an air-conditioned stadium! Who makes these decisions? We qualified top of a group and there's little or no reward. So disappointing.

Jim: I'm pleased they are in Boston for the first two games, the climate should be more accommodating. The times are not so great, but I'll still be watching.

Scott: We just have to enjoy every minute of the whole World Cup experience. The games will be what they'll be. Just so grateful and happy to be going and to be part of things.

Lewis: I'll be flying to Toronto on the 10th to meet my friend Harry who lives just outside Toronto. Despite being Canadian, Harry is a keen Scotland fan as his grandfather is from Leith! We'll be driving down to Boston a few days before the first match. The rest is unplanned, though I am lucky enough to have had four weeks of annual leave approved so I'm hopeful we can make it out the group stage. It's shaping up to be my biggest (and likely most expensive) away trip yet!

Kenny: Took a gamble and booked flights in advance to Boston for only £330! Draw and venues came out! Phew! Internal flight Boston to Miami £120. Now 28 years later and I get to again watch us play Brazil and Morocco. Let's hope for better results this time.

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Kieran Tierney is relishing the "amazing" World Cup draw handed to Scotland, in particular the "massive" match against five-time champions Brazil.

The Scots play Haiti and Morocco in Boston before finishing their Group C campaign against Brazil in Miami.

Celtic defender Tierney scored the decisive goal as Scotland beat Denmark to reach the finals for the first time since 1998.

"I think everyone, when you say you're going to the World Cup, people say 'hopefully we get Brazil'," he said.

"It's a massive tie, how good they are, how historic a country they are. So many good players. It's one we'll look forward to.

"It's amazing. That's why you're part of it.

"When you saw the groups coming out, you had a feeling Scotland would be the one to draw Brazil.

"But an amazing achievement for us as a country to get there. I'm sure all the fans, players and staff will be looking forward to it."

Hibernian midfielder Josh Mulligan has revealed how Scotland head coach Steve Clarke challenged him to "step up" into a new leadership role at Easter Road as he looks to win a place in the squad for next summer's World Cup. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Rangers have offered 29-year-old Scotland centre-half John Souttar, who is out of contract next summer, improved terms on an extension until the summer of 2028. (Daily Record), external

A voodoo priest has told how he plans to summon divine spirits to help Haiti claim a shock victory over Scotland at next summer's World Cup. (Scottish Sun), external

Scotland's top clubs are fearing a six-figure loss in their academy budgets after the Scottish FA indicated that annual payments via Club Academy Scotland could be stopped. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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