Scotland began their World Cup preparations with a narrow friendly defeat by Japan at Hampden as substitute Junya Ito conjured a late winner.
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Image source, SNSScotland midfielder Kenny McLean
"A disappointing result. It's good to get these challenges, we're trying to prepare as well as we can for a big summer ahead.
"We'll try to get better and that's what we'll try to do again on Tuesday. The shape was decent enough at times.
"The second half was a bit better out of possession, but I think we could have been a bit more threatening at the top end of the pitch.
"Japan a really good team, they press you really well, but that's what we're going to come up against in the summer.
"There's an expectation now and we want those expectations on us. We want to reach new levels as a squad and as a country."
Scotland defender Scott McKenna
"We had ideas that we worked on through the week that maybe we didn't execute quite as well on the ball.
"Japan have a lot of pace in the team to break early. We had a couple of chances that we maybe could have taken but didn't. Ultimately we gave away too many chances and they scored one towards the end.
"We're at home and we've qualified for a World Cup. This team have come that far that we expect to win these games at home.
"Japan have gone deep into competitions and we want to do the same going forward."
Scotland defender Jack Hendry
"It was a good test for us, Japan are a good side.
"Going into the World Cup it's good to play against these opponents. We knew it was going to be a tough test and it's a poor result.
"They move the ball really well, these are the types of opponents we need to play going into the World Cup. We will learn lots from it.
"We've got a lot more in the tank. Those small margins matter in a game like that, but I feel like we've got a lot more to show for ourselves.
"We've got a lot more to work on and improve but we'll do well."
Image source, SNSScotland head coach Steve Clarke: "There's a lot to take from the performance. Obviously there's are one or two things we can do better.
"To lose it on the goal that we lost is disappointing. The game at that stage looked like it was going to peter out to a 0-0 draw.
"We made a mistake, probably tried to go forward too early, got caught and they managed to score off it.
"I thought we defended well in the game against a very good side. They pop the ball around really well and we knew they would cause us problems . I thought it would be a low-scoring game and it was.
"Young Tommy [Conway] did really well coming off the left side. He did really well for us and didn't do himself any harm tonight. I liked my midfield, my midfield was strong.
"We played a lot of good stuff and I think we can be a bit more progressive to get to the top end of the pitch but against top opposition sometimes that difficult.
"We'll recover now and get the next team ready to go. I anticipate six or seven changes and there's some personnel I want to see on the pitch. So it'll be a different team on Tuesday from the one that played today."
David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter
Image source, SNSSteve Clarke has been speaking to the media before Scotland host Japan in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Saturday.
Here are the key lines from the Scotland boss:
Clarke says because a number of his players are coming back from injury or carrying niggles at this stage of the season, some of his selections "might raise an eyebrow a little bit".
He is eager for players to be fresh for the World Cup: "My job is to make sure the players come out of these [games] fit, well and ready for the end of the season at the clubs and obviously to be ready for the summer."
He adds: "Both matches [Scotland face Ivory Coast on Tuesday] will be important in terms of preparation for the World Cup games. For us it's looking at one or two things that are different, looking at one or two different personnel across the squad, trying to use as many players as we can and yet get as positive results that we can."
Scotland are back together for the first time since securing qualification with victory over Denmark in November, and Clarke says: "We reflected a little bit on what we had achieved in the qualifying campaign, because obviously we'd gone months without a game. So that was nice to catch up, reflect on what we did, the resilience that we had to get to qualification."
Seeing Republic of Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland lose in the play-offs underlines what Scotland have achieved: "I think it's the perils of being in the play-off system. We watched all the games on split screens. I think it also shows the measure of how well our team did in qualifying direct for the tournament. To finish top of our group and in front of a good Denmark and Greece side is something we should be proud of, I thought it was good."
Having handed Findlay Curtis a first call-up, Clarke says the 19-year-old winger isn't one for the future – he's for now. Curtis brings "something a little bit different" and offers pace in the absence of Ben Gannon-Doak.
Clarke outlines how he's fostered a "club" spirit in the national squad: "The thing for me was to get a continuity of selection as much as possible while I was still trying to drip-feed younger players into the mix at the right time. And a familiarity of players, so that when you do meet up, the players immediately switch off and realise this is how we do it when we come to the Scotland camp. And I think that, allied to the fantastic balance of the players that I've got, have helped us to earn three qualifications over the last seven years."
Image source, SNSExciting is building for Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years this summer - but they can't be content just to make up the numbers.
That's the view of Michael Grant, Scottish football correspondent for The Times, who says Steve Clarke's men must aim to become the first Scotland men's team to progress beyond the group stage of a major tournament.
Scotland's previous attempt to achieve that feat fell flat at Euro 2024. After a hammering by hosts Germany in the opening game, they drew with Switzerland and lost to Hungary to finish bottom of the group and end any hope of advancing.
"Of course the World Cup's going be brilliant just to be part of it," Grant told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
"But we need a bit more than that as well. It's not just kilts and sporrans and whisky and all the kind of cultural stuff that will go around it.
"Scotland have never got out of a group at a tournament. That has to be the objective and it has to be serious and that has to be what Steve Clarke is judged on.
"The two tournaments we've reached so far were really poor when we got there. He knows that.
"He's always bristled at the criticism he got, especially for the Germany campaign. But that's the way people felt, that's the way supporters felt as well. They felt let down, they'd spent a lot of money to be there.
"That is the objective, it's not just to be at the World Cup. Ending that 28-year cycle is fantastic and that's entirely down to Steve Clarke and his players but now it's legitimate to want more as well.
"It's legitimate to say, right, let's really push hard to get out of the group."
Image source, SNSSteve Clarke would bring "wins and stability" to Celtic, says BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English, but would his "face fit"?
The Glasgow giants are on the hunt for a permanent manager this summer with former boss Martin O'Neill in charge of the side until the end of the season.
Clarke is due to depart the Scotland job after the World Cup, with no new contract offer currently on the table from the Scottish FA.
"One of the things that I have learned over my many years is never to second guess anything in Scottish football, especially this season," English told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.
"Could it happen? Yes, it could. Would Celtic fans want it to happen? I don't want speak for them but certainly some of the Celtic fans I know have articulated the views that they wouldn't want to see Steve Clarke come in.
"They'd want to see somebody maybe a bit younger, a bit more European, in terms of their style of football, a bit more flamboyant. I'm not sure that that's necessarily what Celtic needs right now.
"What Celtic need is a lot of wins and a lot of stability. I think Clarke would give them that, but I'm not sure his face would fit there."
Image source, GettyScotland are winless in three previous meetings with Japan, drawing 0-0 in 1995 and 2006 and losing 2-0 October 2009. It is the most times Scotland have faced an opponent without scoring in their history; the other countries they've faced without netting are Costa Rica (two), Morocco (one) and Mexico (one).
Japan have won five of their past six matches against European nations (D1), having lost six in a row beforehand against European teams.
Scotland have won eight of their past 12 matches (D1 L3), having only won one of their previous 16 beforehand (D5 L10).
Japan have won seven of their past 10 games in all competitions (D2 L1), including the latest three in a row since a 2-2 friendly draw with Paraguay.
Scotland won their last friendly in June 2025, beating Liechtenstein 4-0. They haven't won consecutive friendly games since a run of four between March 2015 and March 2016. They are winless in 10 friendlies on home soil (D3 L7) since a 1-0 victory over Denmark in March 2016.
Japan have scored four goals in each of their past two games against European nations (4-1 v Germany, 4-2 v Turkey) – the only non-European nation to score four-plus goals in three games in a row against European teams is Brazil (three games between 1950-52, four games from 1963-65).
Scott McTominay has 14 goals for Scotland, all scored in competitive internationals – he is yet to net in 11 friendlies. Only Robert Hamilton (15 goals in Home Nations games between 1899 and 1911) has more goals for the Scots without netting in a non-competitive game.
Japan's Takefusa Kubo has assisted 16 goals in his past 25 international appearances, averaging an assist every 92 minutes. He has also scored six goals in those 25 games, meaning he has a goal or assist every 67 minutes.
