The 6 semi-finals and 3 finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers were originally scheduled to start on March 24 and 29, and three teams were determined to qualify for the World Cup. But for reasons that are well known, there are quite a few variables in the play-offs:
Russia in Group B was banned and Poland advanced directly to the final of the play-offs, which will face sweden vs. the czech republic winner;
The semi-finals of the play-offs in Scotland vs Ukraine in Group A were postponed to June, with the winning team taking on the winner of Wales vs Austria.
This left Scotland with no World Cup play-offs to play at the end of March, with only two warm-up games to play.
In the previous 10 rounds of the World Preliminary Round, Scotland performed well, with a record of 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss, and finally ranked second in Group F, pressing against Israel and Austria in the same group, second only to Denmark, which won 9 wins and 1 loss. Second in the group, Scotland advanced to the World Cup European Qualifiers play-off.
The last time Scotland played in the World Cup was in 1998, and after years of downturn, the Current Scotland team has a new look, with many players playing for Premier League teams, including many stars familiar to fans: Liverpool's main left-back Robertson, Arsenal's main defender Tierney, and Manchester United's midfielder Scott McTominay.
Especially at the left-back position, the Scottish team encountered the trouble of happiness, and Robertson and Tierney were on the left side of the road, which was quite sharp.
In the latest edition of the Scottish squad, there are several new faces. Among them, Hickey Aaron Hickey, who was selected for the Scottish team for the first time, is also a left-back and can also play as a left-wing defender.
The 19-year-old is already an absolute mainstay of Serie A side Bologna, scoring four goals in his 27 Serie A appearances this season, scoring the goals of Genoa, Lazio, Fiorentina and Sassuolo.
On the front line, Scotland coach Clark has called up a League One player: 25-year-old striker Stewart, who plays for Sunderland.
Previously, when playing in the Soviet Premier League, Stewart's performance was not outstanding. In the 2019-20 season, he scored seven goals for Rose County in 21 premier league games, and after scoring only two goals in 19 games for Rose County in the 2020-21 season, Stewart moved to League One side Sunderland in January 2021. In the second half of the 2020–21 season, he made 13 appearances for Sunderland in League One, including 3 starts and 10 off-the-bench appearances, scoring a total of 3 goals.
It seems like a mediocre striker.
But after the start of the 2021-22 season, Stewart is in quite good form, firmly occupying the main position, making 39 appearances in League One this season, scoring 22 goals, and currently ranking first in the League One top scorer list. Stewart, who was previously unknown, finally ushered in an outbreak at the age of 25.
The header was a favourite of 1.88m Stuart, who has scored several times this season for Sunderland's header.
When the ball is at the foot, the handling of the last blow in front of the goal is also remarkable.
With his outstanding performance in League One, Stewart was selected for scotland for the first time and became the subject of a close inspection by coach Clarke.
Compared to the midfield, the front line is the weak link for Scotland. Will Stewart, from League One side Sunderland, be the answer to Scotland's scoring conundrum? Let's wait and see.