A week before Scotland’s most winnable-looking match of the World Cup group stage, striker Lawrence Shankland says a win over Bolivia would put his side “in a good spot” for the first game of their finals against Haiti.
“It’s another step towards the tournament starting,” Shankland told Scotland’s official channel, having scored twice inside six minutes in the 4-1 win over Curacao in Glasgow last Saturday.
“It’s one more to enjoy. When we met last week, it was just the start of the build-up. We know how important it is to prepare properly and make sure we’re in a good place.
“We know how important the first game in the group is going to be for us. First and foremost, we need to take care of this friendly.”
Bolivia beat Brazil 1-0 at home to finish seventh in South American qualifying and advance to two one-off inter-confederation play-offs, beating Suriname 2-1 before losing to Iraq by the same scoreline in a decider.
Oscar Villegas, who has been in charge since 2024, is expected to use the friendly to give inexperienced players opportunities for a nation who have never won at the World Cup across three appearances, last featuring in 1994.
“We believe that those called up have the opportunity to gain playing time – especially some of the younger players, and that’s important for us,” said Villegas, via Diez.
At 77th in FIFA’s rankings, Bolivia are four places above Haiti but significantly lower than Scotland’s subsequent opponents during the group stage, Morocco and Brazil.
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Bolivia v Scotland team news
Tyler Fletcher has been called up to replace Billy Gilmour after the midfielder suffered a knee injury during the win over Curacao.
The 19-year-old Manchester United prospect had been training with the squad and made his debut as a half-time substitute at Hampden Park.
Craig Gordon returned from a shoulder injury in May and the 43-year-old played the first half of the game.
Middlesbrough forward Tommy Conway will miss the World Cup with an ankle problem but Southampton striker Ross Stewart could feature for Scotland for the first time since 2022, having suffered a string of serious injuries between his last international appearance and January this year.
Right-back Diego Medina is injured for Bolivia and could be replaced by Yomar Rocha or Lucas Macazaga. Midfielder Moises Villarroel is also sidelined.
Left-back Dieguito Rodriguez and attacking midfielder Jesus Maraude did not complete their visa paperwork and Hector Cuellar is absent because the midfielder has been completing a move to Bulgarian club CSKA 1948.
Bolivia v Scotland predicted line-ups
Bolivia starting XI: Guillermo Viscarra, Lucas Macazaga, Efrain Morales, Luis Haquin, Roberto Carlos Fernandez, Ervin Vaca, Ramiro Vaca, Robson Matheus, Miguel Terceros, Moises Paniagua, Daniel Ribera
Scotland starting XI: Liam Kelly, Nathan Patterson, Anthony Ralston, Dominic Hyam, Grant Hanley, Findlay Curtis, Tyler Fletcher, Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn, Lyndon Dykes, Che Adams
Where to watch Bolivia v Scotland: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Saturday is at 21:00 BST (16:00 ET / 13:00 PT). Live coverage in the UK is on BBC Two and BBC Scotland.
Fans can stream the action via BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.
Bolivia v Scotland stats
- This will be the first-ever meeting between the countries and Bolivia’s first against a Home Nation
- Bolivia have won one of their last 21 matches against European opposition (D4 L16), beating Andorra 1-0 at home in March 2024
- They conceded the most goals of any nation in the CONMEBOL qualification group phase (35)
- Before a 3-0 home win over Jamaica in their most recent friendly in March, Bolivia had gone 12 non-competitive matches without scoring more than once in a game (W1 D2 L9)
- Scotland have won two of their last four friendly matches (L2), having won two of their previous 16 (D4 L10)
- They are winless in six matches against South American opposition (D1 L5) since a 2-1 win against Ecuador in Japan in May 1995
- Head coach Steve Clarke saw his side score more than three goals in four of his first 73 matches in charge but Scotland have now netted four in two of their last four games, although they did not register in the other two
- The Tartan Army had scored more than three goals in one of their previous 36 matches across all competitions before this run
- Should Bolivia score, Scotland will be without a clean sheet in eight consecutive matches for the first time since a sequence between October 2002 and June 2003
- In their last friendly before their previous World Cup appearance in 1998, Scotland drew 0-0 with the USA in Washington before losing their tournament opener 2-1 to Brazil in Saint-Denis
Bolivia v Scotland prediction
Bolivia 0-1 Scotland
Avoiding injuries had been a priority for Clarke before Scotland lost Gilmour, which means that focus is likely to be intensified alongside targeting a long-awaited clean sheet against opponents who tend to be low-scoring.
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