Just one match into the qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2014 and Scotland arrive at what is widely considered to be a ‘must-win’ encounter. Such media hyperbole is rarely warranted, but with Scotland having already surrendered two points on Saturday, in a group which is likely to be very tight, they cannot afford to see another chance go begging against a side likely to finish near the bottom.
Scotland’s Under-21 side go into tonight’s game against Austria at the Cashpoint-Arena in Altach with a realistic chance of qualifying for the play-off round as one of the four best second placed sides. A 3-0 win over Luxembourg on Saturday, with all the goals at St. Mirren Park coming in the second half, kept alive their hopes of being one of the eight sides to reach the finals in Israel next summer.
“We’ve not got beat, and that’s the main thing.” Those were the words of Scotland’s Paul Dixon in the immediate aftermath of his man of the match performance against Serbia on Saturday. Words which summed up perfectly Craig Levein’s reign as Scotland manager and why so many fans fear that qualification for a major tournament remains beyond us while the former Dundee United and Hearts manager remains in charge.
There can be little doubt that the upcoming qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2014 will go a long way to defining Craig Levein’s tenure as Scotland manager. After failure to qualify for UEFA Euro 2012, from a group that many felt we should have finished second in given the poor quality of the Czech Republic, there is something of a sense that Levein has to guide his team to Brazil if he is to avoid losing his job.
Supporting the Scotland national football team from a fresh perspective.
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