Scotland v Finland, International Friendly Preview, 2024

Scotland will look to finish their preparations for Euro 2024 strongly after an underwhelming performance against Gibraltar on Monday night. Steve Clarke’s side had gone seven games without victory before their unconvincing 2-0 win. Goals from Ryan Christie and Che Adams secured victory for the Tartan Army after some wasteful finishing.

Despite the unemphatic nature of their victory, Clarke remained positive and he will hope his side can carry the positives into a tough fixture against a Finland side who threatened to make things uncomfortable for Portugal on Tuesday night.

Although the away side ended up losing 4-2, two quick-fire goals from Teemu Pukki at 3-0 sparked Portuguese concerns of a comeback, and they showed they will not be a pushover for a Scotland side hoping to enter their opening fixture against Germany on Friday 14^th June on a high. 

If they are to qualify from a group containing hosts Germany, Switzerland and Hungary, and make it out of the group stage for the first time in their history, Clarke will know the level of performance will have to improve, and his injury-ravaged side will look to add to the 5 defeats suffered by Finland in their last 8 matches. 

Scotland 

The home side will look to finish strongly with players keen to make a final impression before Clarke finalises his 26-man squad before the 11pm deadline later on the night of Friday 7th June.

The Tartan Army will welcome Bristol City’s uncapped striker Tommy Conway into the squad, who scored in Scotland U21‘s defeat to Turkey U21‘s in Istanbul on Monday night. The 21-year-old scored 12 times in 43 appearances for his club side this season and replaces Lyndon Dykes who had to pull out of the squad due to an ankle injury sustained in training and will miss Euro 2024.

Clarke has also called up New York Red Bulls attacker Lewis Morgan who has 9 goals in 16 games this season. The in-form forward can play centrally or out wide and will have an opportunity Friday night to force himself into selection for Clarke’s final Euro 2024 squad.

Morgan replaces the injured Ben Doak who pulled out injured earlier this week. Doak joins Nathan Patterson, Aaron Hickey and Lewis Ferguson in missing the tournament for the Scots, and Clarke will be hoping his side can get through their final warm-up fixture unscathed.

In more positive news, Scotland should be able to welcome back Stuart Armstrong, Scott McTominay, and John Souttar to the side, after all three missed out on the fixture earlier this week as they recovered from their respective injuries.

Finland

Pukki will be expected to return to the starting line-up after his brace on Tuesday, and he is likely to be accompanied by exciting youngsters Oliver Antman and Juho Talvitie.

Captain Lukas Hradecky is likely to continue in goal coming off the back of a fantastic club season at Bayer Leverkusen, going unbeaten and winning the Bundesliga.

At the back, the away side will rely on Richard Jensen, who currently plays for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership, and Robert Ivanov.

Scotland 

Gunn; McCrorie, Hendry, Souttar, Roberston; McTominay, Gilmour, McGinn; Christie, Adams, Forrest

Finland

Hradecky; Alho, Ivanov, Jensen, Niskanen; Lod, Peltola, Suhonen; Talvitie, Pukki, Antman

Scotland – Scott McTominay

Clarke will be able to welcome midfielder Scott McTominay into the fold against Finland, which will provide a much-needed boost. The 27-year-old comes into the squad on the back of winning the FA Cup with club side Manchester United.

A versatile midfielder who can even operate at centre-back, he brings a wealth of international experience with him having earned 41 caps for his national team.

Typically used at Manchester United as part of the midfield pivot, he has found recent success in a more advanced role with Erik Ten Haag utilising him higher up the pitch. This has allowed him to become a more prominent goal threat, and he currently ranks in the 99^th percentile amongst midfielders in the last 365 days in non-penalty goals per 90 minutes (via FBref).

He is a workhorse who leaves everything on the pitch, often contributing to the ugly side of the game, winning his duels and contributing defensively. At six foot three inches tall he is physically superior to the majority of players and effectively uses his stature to his advantage. McTominay is also very strong in the air, winning 1.7 aerials per 90 minutes which ranks in the 86^th percentile amongst other midfielders (via FBref).

Clarke has typically used McTominay as part of his midfield two and he will be expected to help protect the defence as well as provide support to the attackers going forward.

Finland – Teemu Pukki

The experienced striker still possesses a great threat to goal, as shown by his brace against Portugal earlier this week, and if Finland are to get a result on Friday night, they will be relying on their frontman, who has scored 42 goals in 121 caps for his national side, to fire them to victory. 

Currently playing his club football at Minnesota United in the MLS, the 34-year-old striker boasts a goal-scoring record that has followed him at every club he’s been. 

He will be a familiar man to Scotland supporters after a spell at Celtic where he found the net 9 times in 38 matches. 

The striker is most known for his spell at Norwich, with his time at the Canaries bringing about 88 goals in his 210 appearances across time in the Championship and Premier League for the club

An excellent finisher and carrier of the ball, he possesses a threat in behind the defence, great strength as evidenced by his high amount of ground duels engaged and won using his physicality, and also has a fantastic ability to find space and receive in the box. 

The Scotland defence will need to monitor him closely if they are to stop the striker from ruining their final Euro 2024 preparations. 

Where is the game being played?

The match will be played at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland.

What time is kick-off?

Kick-off is at 19:45 BST on Friday 7th June 2024.

How can I watch?

Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the match on BBC Three or BBC Scotland.