Scotland continue their preparations for this summer’s FIFA World Cup, with a warm-up match against Cote D’Ivoire in Liverpool tonight Tuesday 31 March 2026.
It will be the first time Scotland have ever faced their opponents, and the first time they have played at the newly-opened Hill Dickinson Stadium – home of Everton FC.
Scotland slipped to a narrow defeat against Japan on Saturday at Barclays Hampden in the first World Cup warm-up match and will be looking to get back to winning ways to take some momentum into this summer’s finals.
Steve Clarke named a 26-man squad for this double header and the Head Coach hinted on Saturday that he is likely to shuffle his pack for Tuesday’s fixture.
Centre back Scott McKenna won his 49th Scotland cap against the Samurai Blue at the weekend and could join the Roll of Honour on 50 caps should he feature against Cote D’Ivoire.
Skipper Andy Robertson, meanwhile, drew level with Jim Leighton in second place on the all-time caps list on Saturday as he won his 91st cap and the left-back could overtake the legendary goalkeeper on Tuesday.
Scotland midfielder John McGinn: “It’s a completely different challenge for us again. We’ve got the luxury of not playing a play-off, so we get the chance to play against African opponents for the first time in a long time.
“The main aim for us is obviously to try and prepare for the Morocco game, and this team in Ivory Coast gives us the best chance to try and prepare for that. They’re a different style of team to Japan.
“It’s going to be a big test, but what it is is an opportunity for the manager to see new players, give players a chance to stake a claim for the summer game.
“The priority is to get minutes into the boys’ legs, give people a chance to show what they can do leading into the summer, which is the priority for these two games.”
Scotland Head Coach Steve Clarke: “I had a great time here in Liverpool. A great city. I obviously loved working with Kenny at Liverpool.
“It’s different from Goodison. I’m pretty sure the atmosphere will be good tomorrow night. It’s a fantastic stadium.
“Everton have done so well to get the site, to build what they’ve built. It’s a great city with two great football clubs.
“Ivory Coast will present a different challenge. They play a different system. They’re athletic.
“If you watch the 4-0 game (against South Korea on Saturday), if I was South Korea coach, I’d be thinking, how did that happen? Because they were actually quite good in the game and created a number of chances, hit the post a couple of times.
“The 4-0 is a measure of how clinical Ivory Coast were. So, we know that we have to defend well, as always. That’s the base for every game.
“But we also know that we have to try and create some problems and hopefully we can get ourselves on the scoresheet a few times.”
