DON’T BOYCOTT QATAR, PLEADS DENMARK BOSS

DENMARK boss Kasper Hjulmand has urged his country’s politicians not to end their World Cup dream by ordering his side to boycott the Qatar tournament. Scotland will face the Danes, along with Austria, Israel, Faroe Islands and Moldova. But some Danish politicians have proposed that their country should play no part in the 2022 tournament because of Qatar’s record on human rights. However, Hjulmand pleaded with them not to demand a boycott should they qualify, while admitting he’s full of praise for Steve Clarke’s new-look Scotland. ‘It’s a long discussion for another day probably, but it’s important to point out the Danish FA have never been in favour of the World Cup being hosted in Qatar,’ he said. ‘There’s a lot of criticism rightly for the host country and there are plenty of things that need to be improved there, but it’s not the place of football to make a world map of where you can and cannot go to. ‘Boycotting is not the way to change things. We have been backed on our stance by Amnesty International, too. They have told us this is not the way to make changes. We believe the best way to highlight the problems in that country is to qualify and take it from there. ‘So unless the Danish Parliament orders us not to go, we will be in Qatar if we qualify. ‘As for the draw, it’s very close to a dream one for us. But there is a lot of quality in Austrian football and we are also playing Scotland — a country who are going in the right direction. ‘They have just qualified for their first tournament in many years and they will be extremely confident and enthusiastic now.’