Players… but so do we’
2 Kenny Mclean hugs goal hero Oliver Burke in the win over Cyprus, main. Below left, Mclean enjoyed a successful season at Norwich that ended with him as Mayor. Above, James Forrest will be key against Belgium, where Scott Mctominay, right, may come in. BELGIUM 3 SCOTLAND 0 (1971)
Archie Gemmill made his debut for Scotland in this qualifier at the Stade Sclessin in Liege but it ended in some disappointment for Bobby Brown’s men. An own goal by Rangers defender Ronnie Mckinnon gave the home side the interval lead. On a quagmire of a pitch, Belgian skipper Paul Van Himst shone brightly and he doubled the home side’s lead 10 minutes into the second half with a curling free-kick before grabbing his second with a late penalty.
BELGIUM 2 SCOTLAND 0 (1979)
Jock Stein’s side included stars such as Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Joe Jordan but they got off to a nightmare start when striker Franky Van Der Elst gave Belgium the lead with only six minutes played. The Scots were similarly slow off the mark at the start of the second half and midfielder Eddy Voordeckers grabbed the second in the 47th minute. Guy Thys’ talented side went on to lose the final to West Germany the following year.
BELGIUM 3 SCOTLAND 2 (1982)
Scotland’s defeat in the Heysel Stadium is probably best remembered for Dalglish’s spectacular solo second goal which gave the visitors the lead for the second time in the first half. In an entertaining encounter, his fine first strike came when he linked up with Steve Archibald in a speedy break but that was cancelled out by Erwin Vandenbergh. The Belgians fought back again after Dalglish’s moment of magic and Van Der Elst helped himself to a double to take the points.
BELGIUM 4 SCOTLAND 1 (1987)
There was no joking after this April Fools’ Day defeat for Scotland which came courtesy of a hat-trick from Nico Claesen, pictured. The Scots had four players from Dundee United and three from Aberdeen in the starting XI and it had looked encouraging enough at the interval after Celtic midfielder Paul Mcstay’s header had cancelled out the Tottenham striker ’s early effort. However, Andy Roxburgh’s side came unstuck after the break. The clinical Claesen scored either side of Frank Vercauteren’s goal to send the Scots packing with their qualification hopes all but ended.