Kris Boyd says Scotland cannot afford to concede another early goal against Brazil in their final World Cup Group C match on Wednesday after falling 70 seconds behind against Morocco.
Steve Clarke made a number of changes to his starting line-up to frustrate his eager opponents on Friday night, but they were canceled out by Ismail Saibari’s strike after just two minutes to secure victory.
A win would see Scotland advance to the group stage for the first time at a major tournament, but they still have a fair chance of reaching the last 32 by beating Brazil or finishing as one of the best top three teams.
Scotland’s Grant Hanley in action against Morocco
But that could depend on goal difference and Boyd said Scotland could not afford another slow start against the five-time world champions in Miami.
“I think it will be similar to the Morocco game, but you have to empathize with that. Don’t give up an early goal because suddenly everything changes.” sky sports Expert Boyd said:
“Brazil are in a fantastic position now after beating Haiti so they will pull through, it will be difficult for Scotland.
“Brazil may not have the superstars they have had in previous years, but they still have top players who can cause problems – we see that every week in club teams.
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Luke Shanley has delivered his verdict on Scotland’s 1-0 loss to Morocco in their second World Cup match.
“Scotland need to switch on and not concede early goals. They need to play and then suddenly they can feel like they are part of the game.
“Going back to the Morocco game, I felt Scotland lacked the belief to be on the same pitch as Morocco for most of the first half.”
Clarke: The game doesn’t get any easier
Steve Clarke says Scotland’s players will “suffer” the disappointment of defeat to Morocco before preparing to play Brazil next week.
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Scotland manager Steve Clarke reacts to their World Cup loss to Morocco.
The Scotland manager was proud of his players’ effort against Morocco but said his players must be given time to overcome the defeat before looking for a result that could see them through to the knockout stages.
“Of course (lots of confidence), but first we have to let the players suffer a little bit for the next 48 hours because that’s what they’re going to do, they don’t like to lose to anybody,” Clarke said.
“Then we’ll rest, recover and get ready to go again. But that won’t make the game that much easier, right?
“To be fair I thought we held ourselves together in the first half. It probably took us 10 minutes to get back into it because it’s really hard to react when you get that setback.
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Opta gives Scotland a 73.57% chance of qualifying, as they currently sit third in the World Cup.
“A weaker team would have been crushed by the quality of their opposition, but we dug in, got back into the game and started moving the ball a little better.
“After the hydration break we played well in the second half of the first half, got some good momentum going into the half and carried that into the second half. We were moving in the right direction.”
“We are proud of the players, but we are all shocked and disappointed that we cannot continue this competition for as long as possible because we have not achieved the results we wanted.”
