Preview: Scotland vs Ivory Coast - prediction, team news, lineups

Scotland and Ivory Coast will clash at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday in an international friendly match.

Both teams will be using the encounter to prepare for their upcoming appearances in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Match preview

Scotland qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in extremely dramatic fashion, securing their place at the tournament in the final game of the UEFA qualifying group stage.

Steve Clarke's men had recorded three wins, one draw and one loss in their first five group games, leaving them one point behind first-placed Denmark going into the final fixture.

Scotland faced the leaders in that final matchday, and after twice taking the lead, Clarke's side looked destined for a second-placed finish as the score was level at 2-2 going into stoppage time.

However, a remarkable end saw Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean score in the 93rd and 98th minute respectively, sealing a thrilling 4-2 win to book their place at the World Cup.

As a result, Scotland are now preparing for their first World Cup appearance since 1998, when they were eliminated from the group stage with just one point from three games.

Scotland's preparations got off to an underwhelming start at the weekend, losing 1-0 to Japan, with an uninspiring performance even leading to boos at the full-time whistle.

Hoping to bounce back and start building momentum ahead of the summer's tournament, Scotland will be aiming to get the best of Ivory Coast on Tuesday night.

Ivory Coast are similarly getting prepared for the 2026 competition, having qualified with a first-placed finish in Group F of CAF qualifiers.

Emerse Fae's side remained unbeaten in qualifying, winning eight and drawing two of their 10 matches, meaning they finished first and narrowly one point above second-placed Gabon.

Les Elephants attempted to carry the momentum from that superb qualifying campaign into the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where they were looking to defend their crown after winning on home soil in 2023.

Fae's men were ultimately unable to retain their title, losing 3-2 to Egypt in the quarter-finals, but they did bounce back from that loss in their first friendly fixture ahead of the World Cup last weekend.

Goals from Evann Guessand, Simon Adingra, Martial Godo and Wilfried Singo sealed a fantastic 4-0 win against South Korea on Saturday, and Ivory Coast will be looking to build on that on Tuesday.

Scotland International Friendlies form:

Scotland form (all competitions):

W W W L W L

Ivory Coast International Friendlies form:

Ivory Coast form (all competitions):

W D W W L W

Team News

Following an underwhelming performance in the 1-0 loss to Japan, Clarke could make numerous changes to the starting side on Tuesday.

As a result, the likes of Ryan Christie, Kieran Tierney, Billy Gilmour, Anthony Ralston, Che Adams and John Souttar could start.

Despite a 4-0 win last time out, Fae is also likely to make several changes to give the entire squad a test ahead of the World Cup squad selections.

Odilon Kossounou, Franck Kessie and Elye Wahi all sat out in the weekend's win, but all three could start in this one.

Scotland possible starting lineup:

Gunn; Ralston, Souttar, McKenna, Tierney; Christie, Gilmour; McGinn, McTominay, Curtis; Adams

Ivory Coast possible starting lineup:

Lafont; Singo, Diomande, Kossounou, Konan; Guiagon, Sangare, Kessie; Diallo, Wahi, Godo

We say: Scotland 1-1 Ivory Coast

Both teams are anticipated to heavily rotate from the weekend's matches, potentially leading to disjointed performances from the two teams and leading us to expect a hard-fought draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.