SCOTLAND’S FIVE OPPONENTS...
BELGIUM
FIRST GAME: 1904: Belgium 3-3 v France.
MANAGER: Roberto Martinez.
EURO CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: 13
STAR MAN: Eden Hazard, below. Chelsea magician is one of the best players on the planet.
SCOTLAND’S RECORD AGAINST THEM:
P18 W4 D3 L11.
INTERESTING FACT: They are known as the Red Devils, but in the 1970s, manager Raymond Goethals chose an all-white combination to improve the team’s visibility during evening matches.
RUSSIA
FIRST GAME: 1912. Finland 2-1 Russia
(as Russian Empire)
MANAGER: Stanislav Cherchesov.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: 5.
STAR MAN: Artem Dzyuba, below. Captain and Zenit St Petersburg striker who has netted 15 goals in 32 games.
SCOTLAND’S RECORD AGAINST THEM:
P5 W1 D2 L2
(includes Soviet Union and CIS)
INTERESTING FACT: Scotland have only played in Moscow twice and have never scored.
CYPRUS
FIRST GAME: 1960. Cyprus 1-1 Israel.
MANAGER: Ran Ben Shimon.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: 0.
STAR MAN: Grigoris Kastanos, below. Juventus midfielder is regarded as the key man for the Cypriots.
SCOTLAND’S RECORD AGAINST THEM:
P5 W5 D0 L0
INTERESTING FACT: Scotland boast a 100 per cent record against them including an 8-0 romp in 1969 when Colin Stein netted four goals against the Cypriots.
KAZAKHSTAN
FIRST GAME: 1992.Kazakhstan1–0turkmenistan.
MANAGER: Stanimir Stoilov.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: 0
STAR MAN: Bauyrzhan Islamkhan, below. Captain of Kazakhstan and a Kairat Almaty midfield hero with over 200 appearances for them.
SCOTLAND’S RECORD AGAINST THEM:
P0 W0 D0 L0
INTERESTING FACT: Kazakhstan’s entire squad came from their domestic league in their last Nations League games against Latvia and Georgia.
SAN MARINO
FIRST GAME: 1990. San Marino 0-4 Switzerland.
MANAGER: Franco Varrella.
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: 0.
STAR MAN: Matteo Vitaioli, below. He is their most capped player, but although the striker has 53 caps he has only scored once… against Lithuania. It was their first away goal in 14 years.
SCOTLAND’S RECORD AGAINST THEM:
P6 W6 D0 L0.
INTERESTING FACT: Record defeat is a 13-0 trouncing by Germany. Went over 20 games without scoring from October 2008 to August 2012.