Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scotland boss Steve Clarke hopes for Hampden x-factor against Ukraine

Scotland manager Steve Clarke
Scotland manager Steve Clarke

Scotland manager Steve Clarke hopes a Hampden Park crowd can make a difference in their World Cup play-off against Ukraine.

The two sides will meet in Glasgow on March 24 in a bid to take a step closer to Qatar 2022, with Scotland having a helpful home advantage.

Should the national team get through then there is the potential of an all-home nations contest in the final, with Wales and Austria in the other half of the draw.

Scotland have met Ukraine just twice previously, with both games coming in qualifying for Euro 2008. Ukraine won the first game 2-0 with Scotland winning the reverse fixture 3-1 at Hampden.

The visitors also have recent fond memories of Glasgow, having won their round of 16 game at the Euros there against Sweden.

“It will be a tough game, Ukraine is a top side. They are well-organised and difficult to beat,” said Clarke.

Scotland will contest the play-offs for World Cup qualification in March
Scotland will contest the play-offs for World Cup qualification in March

“I don’t think they lost a game in their qualifying campaign, although there were a lot of draws.  They have the added advantage of playing at Hampden recently and they had a very good night.

“They won’t be too bothered about coming to Hampden. Maybe with the crowd it might make a difference.

“I have always said if the team do well on the pitch then the Tartan Army will turn up in vast numbers. They have managed to do that in the last two games and they have been great occasions at Hampden and hopefully we can make it a third one in March.”

Should Scotland advance to the final then it would take place five days later, in either Cardiff or Vienna.

Clarke’s men took four points off Austria in qualifying, drawing 2-2 at Hampden and winning 1-0 away. Franco Foda’s side earned a play-off berth through the Uefa Nations League.

Scotland have beaten Austria already in this qualifying campaign

Wales have won five of their last six meetings with Scotland but they were infamously denied a place at the World Cup in 1978, after a handball by Joe Jordan helped earn the Scots a penalty and put them on their way to a 2-0 win.

“We know the Austrians well because we played them twice in the qualifying campaign,” added Clarke. “These draws tend to throw up a rematch and we have seen that in recent times when we have played Israel an awful lot.

“We know what to expect going to Austria and Vienna. Travel is not too bad to get there and we know what to expect from them.

“I know the Austrians will also want to improve on what they did in the qualifying campaign. They will be dangerous opponents.

“If we are lucky enough to go through and face the Welsh in Cardiff then that should be a fantastic occasion.”

There is also hope for Clarke and Scotland that a yellow-card amnesty will be enacted by Uefa, preventing the yellow cards picked up during qualifying being carried into the play-offs.

Scotland have eight players on bookings, including Andy Robertson, Ché Adams, Billy Gilmour, Scott McTominay and John McGinn.

“As far as I know, it will be addressed,” added Clarke. “The last information I got, which hasn’t been confirmed or clarified, was that we are looking good for an amnesty.

“It means a lot of the teams can go in without the threat of yellow cards hanging over the final, if you are lucky enough to get there. That is important.

“All the games will be keenly contested because there is a massive prize at the end of it.”