MX23RW : Sunday, May 5 20:28:19| >> :600:445690:445690:

Stephen O'Donnell insists "belief is growing" in Scotland

Stephen O'Donnell insists
© Reuters
A draw in Israel on Sunday followed a Hampden stalemate with Austria three days earlier.

Full-back Stephen O'Donnell believes Scotland are still heading in the right direction as they seek the first win of their World Cup qualifying campaign.

A 1-1 draw in Israel on Sunday followed a 2-2 Hampden stalemate with Austria three days earlier.

Scotland have not won in four games since beating Serbia on penalties to reach the Euro 2020 finals and have lost the first goal in each of them.

Two of those games in Israel with Scotland at least showing they could fight back this time after losing 1-0 in November to miss out on Nations League promotion.

"We have played Israel a lot of times and they are a very good side," O'Donnell said.

"They make you work, they put you in positions you don't want to be in. They move the ball very well, (Manor) Solomon and (Eran) Zahavi are very, very good technical players. They ask questions.

"To travel over to Israel and come away with a point, it could be a crucial point. We will only know that come the end of the campaign.

"But I think belief is growing. Remember it's been a long, long time since Scotland had a lot of success. It's small steps. We had a big step in November, we need to keep trying to build on that.

"Being undefeated in the first two games isn't the worst start and hopefully we can build on that on Wednesday night."

Scotland host the Faroe Islands on Wednesday at Hampden where only a win will do.

Top seeds Denmark have started on top form with victory in Israel followed by an 8-0 thrashing of Moldova.

The group runners-up will claim a play-off place though and O'Donnell believes Scotland's qualification push will go to the wire.

"You are always looking to win," the Motherwell player said. "Only come the end of the campaign can you really see if it was a missed opportunity.

"I certainly think being undefeated in the first two games is a positive start.

"We knew from the get-go this was going to be a tight group. There's not much between a lot of the teams and we need to make sure we don't slip up badly.

"Going down again, it could have happened, but we came together and got the draw.

"We have a tough game coming at Hampden off the back of a long journey. If we are sitting with five points there's a lot more positivity around the media.

"It's a positive start, we would have liked to have been in a better position but it's going to be a very tight group and it's certainly going to go to the wire."

ID:441022: cacheID:441022:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:6335:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
England manager Gareth Southgate pictured on March 25, 2021
Read Next:
Sunday's World Cup qualifying predictions including Albania vs. England
>
Read more about Stephen O'Donnell Football
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
5.30pm
Auger-Aliassime
Rublev
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal36265588286083
2Manchester CityMan City35257387335482
3Liverpool36239481384378
4Aston Villa36207973532067
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs351861169581160
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle351751378562256
7Chelsea351591170591154
8Manchester UnitedMan Utd34166125251154
9West Ham UnitedWest Ham361310135670-1449
10Bournemouth36139145263-1148
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton351211125357-447
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves36137164960-1146
13Fulham36128165155-444
14Crystal Palace351010154557-1240
15Everton36129153849-1137
16Brentford3699185260-836
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3689194563-1829
18Luton TownLuton3668224978-2926
19Burnley3659223974-3524
RSheffield UnitedSheff Utd36372635100-6516


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!