Belarus vs Scotland prediction & team news: Adams can inspire Scots to first qualifying win

Scotland take on Belarus in Hungary tonight as Steve Clarke’s side look to grab their first win of the World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign (7.45pm, BBC Three & iPlayer).

Qualifying began with a well-earned draw away at Denmark last week, and while fans will be happy with the result, there remain questions over whether Clarke could have pushed for a win in Copenhagen.

That means that tonight’s match is of double importance for the visitors, who need three points on the road but also need to take the game to Belarus.

The hosts lost 5-1 to Greece in their opening match of qualifying, and it has quickly become clear that there’ll be a three-way battle for top spot in this section, with Scotland priced as the outsiders, behind Denmark and Greece, in the group winner odds on betting sites.

If Scotland are to have any hope of qualifying automatically, they will need to beat Belarus both home and away for maximum points.

Thankfully for the Tartan Army, football betting sites expect them to get the job with Scotland a best price of 10/21 to take the three points, with the hosts priced as big as 13/2 for the win.

A 5-1 loss away to Greece set the tone for what will be a difficult qualifying period for Belarus, with the minnows sitting rock bottom of Group C and likely to remain there for the entire campaign.

Contrastingly, a hard-fought 0-0 draw away to Denmark – in what is perhaps their toughest fixture of the group – showed that Scotland can dig deep and get results against some of the better sides on the continent.

That result means that Scotland have two wins, two losses and a draw in their last five matches, though as we saw in their Nations League campaign, they are capable of going head-to-head with Europe’s top sides when it all clicks, having beaten both Croatia and Poland in the last 12 months.

Steve Clarke’s side have scored six goals across their last five games and are ranked 50 places above Belarus. While the hosts have scored 12 goals over their last five games, big wins against the likes of Tajikistan and Azerbaijan are somewhat misleading, and if Scotland can keep a clean sheet away in Denmark then they should have no problem doing the same tonight.

With that in mind, we’re going for Steve Clarke’s side to win to nil and to get their first three points of the campaign.

Belarus vs Scotland prediction 1: Scotland to win to nil - 11/10 Bet365

The attacking duo of Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes looked dangerous at times against Denmark, with the former almost assisting Dykes as he squandered the best chance of the game in Copenhagen.

And while the visitors had fairly limited chances at Parken, they should find plenty of opportunities coming their way against Belarus. Scotland registered 11 shots against Denmark with just 26 per cent of possession, and they’ll be expected to dominate the ball against lesser opposition.

Che Adams scored a hat-trick against Liechtenstein back in June, and while injuries have prevented him from shining on other occasions for the national team, he will be a key player if Scotland are to qualify for the World Cup in June.

With Clarke likely to start his main strikers once again, the Torino man should see opportunities fall his way tonight, and if he does we think he’ll take at least one of them.

Belarus vs Scotland prediction 2: Che Adams to score anytime - 29/20 Ladbrokes

Scotland: Steve Clarke has no new injury concerns after the draw in Copenhagen, though he could decide to make more changes geared towards an attacking line-up.

The manager did suggest there would be “one or two changes”, with the likes of Aaron Hickey, Lewis Ferguson and Lyndon Dykes potentially rested after not playing much football in recent weeks.

Winger Ben Gannon-Doak and midfielder Billy Gilmour are among those pushing for a place in the side.

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