Bosnia are going to make this as awkward as possible for Italy who are attempting to reach the World Cup after missing out in 2018 and 2022 in the final stages of qualification.

Part of this will be Bosnia being as aggressive as possible when without the ball. Bosnia have committed more fouls than any other country during qualifying (17.7 per game), also picking up more yellow cards than any other side (25).

Bosnia have picked up 2+ cards in eight of their nine qualifying matches, with the exception of a 1-0 home win over San Marino which wasn’t really a contest. 

Turkiye were pretty unfortunate to be drawn into a qualifying group alongside Spain, who obviously topped the group to secure automatic progression to the World Cup.

Turkiye won four of their six matches during qualifying, only dropping points to Spain in the form of a draw and loss. They netted 17 goals across these matches, suggesting that Turkiye have the quality to battle through to the World Cup.

They take on a Kosovo side who have done very well to get this far, but had a pretty easy ride in qualifying with only Switzerland really offering them a threat. Both Sweden and Slovenia as the other sides in that group both failed to win a single game - indicating that Kosovo have got a bit lucky to get this far.

There’s also a big disparity between the sides when it comes to scoring power, Kosovo only scored six goals across their six qualifying matches - which won’t be enough to see off a Türkiye side who have a wealth of attacking talent. 

This is probably the toughest match to call of the final World Cup Qualifiers, but I think it will be entertaining with both sides able to contribute to at least two goals in this clash.

Both sides saw four goals in their semi-final matches, with Czechia having to come from behind to earn a 2-2 draw and see off Ireland and penalties while Denmark had a more straightforward evening in putting four goals past North Macedonia.

Denmark have seen 2+ goals in six of their seven qualifying matches, with the exception of a 0-0 draw with Scotland. Overall, Denmark have seen 27 goals across their seven qualifying matches - working out to an average of 3.85 goals per game.

Czechia have seen 2+ goals in eight of their nine qualifying matches, with the exception of their 0-0 draw against Croatia. This tie could very well go the distance with how closely ranked the teams are in key metrics, but goals look to be a good angle with the result tough to call.

Poland showed plenty of fight to come from behind to see off Albania 2-1 in the semi finals and will be cautiously optimistic of coming through this clash with knowledge of how Sweden have struggled on the international stage over recent years.

Poland had 15 shots to score their two goals against Albania, and have scored in each of their last 15 matches across all competitions. The last team to stop Poland finding the back of the net was Croatia back in 2024, with Poland taking on the likes of Portugal and Netherlands in this period.

Sweden booked their spot in the final via a hat trick from Viktor Gyokeres, but did concede in that game which marked the eighth consecutive game where Sweden have failed to keep a clean sheet.

While Scott McTominay didn’t manage to get himself on the scoresheet against Japan on Saturday evening, it wasn’t for the lack of trying. The Scotland talisman was responsible for 4 of Scotland’s 8 shots during Saturday’s friendly, 2 of which were on target.

McTominay was also a constant threat for Scotland during World Cup qualifying, averaging 1.84 shots per game, with 1.01 of those hitting the target. Digging a little deeper, it can be seen that the attacking midfielder delivered at least 1 on-target effort in 5 of Scotland’s 6 World Cup qualifiers. The Napoli ace was showing a similar level of threat in the most recent edition of the Nations League, registering at least 1 on-target effort in 7 of his 8 appearances.

With all that in mind, it’s difficult to look past McTominay to produce a minimum of 1 shot on target on Tuesday night against an Ivory Coast side that conceded 12 shots during Saturday’s 4-0 success against South Korea.

I suspect Anthony Ralston will earn a recall to the Scotland starting XI on Tuesday night, which makes him an appealing option to commit at least one foul. Despite being a bit-part player for both club and country this season, Ralston has a tendency to overstep the mark.

The Scotland right-back was a regular starter during the last Nations League campaign and notably committed a foul in 6 of his 8 outings, giving away multiple free-kicks in 4 of those matches. It’s also worth noting that the 27-year-old started against Liechtenstein in a friendly last year and was penalised once during that fixture.

Further encouragement comes from the fact that Ralston has committed a combined total of 5 fouls across his last 4 Scottish Premiership appearances for Celtic, including 1 as a substitute in a recent win over Motherwell.

Team news permitting, Ralston could find himself in a direct duel with Martial Godo on Tuesday night. The Ivory Coast winger has proven to be a magnet for fouls this season, earning his club side Strasbourg an average of 1.74 free-kicks per 90 in Ligue 1.

I suggested backing Japan to avoid defeat against Scotland on Saturday evening, and they duly delivered with a well-earned 1-0 victory. Given how underwhelming Scotland were, I’m more than happy to take the same approach here by keeping Ivory Coast onside via the Double Chance.

The Elephants produced a number of eye-catching displays during World Cup qualifying, impressively navigating their way to this summer’s showpiece without tasting defeat across 10 matches, winning eight of those.

While Ivory Coast were unable to retain their Africa Cup of Nations crown at the start of the year, they showed no signs of a hangover as they swept aside South Korea 4-0 at Stadium MK on Saturday. That doesn’t bode well for Scotland, who looked well off the pace in their 1-0 home defeat to Japan on Saturday. With that in mind, combined with the Scots' sub-par record in friendly fixtures in recent years, I’m keen to back Ivory Coast to emerge from this friendly fixture with either a win or a draw.

While Scotland’s friendly against Japan produced just 1 goal on Saturday evening, I’m not letting that put me off backing at least 2 match strikes at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday night. The 1-0 scoreline at Hampden was tighter than it suggests, with Scotland losing the shot count 18-8 and conceding 7 efforts on target.

Moreover, goal-heavy games were a regular feature of Scotland’s World Cup qualifiers, with 5 of their 6 fixtures producing over 1.5 goals, and each of their final 4 assignments breaking the over 2.5 goal barrier.

As for the Ivory Coast, they carry plenty of attacking threat, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they scored over 1.5 goals on their own in this contest. The Elephants managed that in 4 of their 8 World Cup qualifying wins, including each of the last 2. What’s more, Saturday’s 4-0 victory over South Korea showed they’re just as capable in friendlies.

On top of all that, 4 of Ivory Coast’s 5 AFCON fixtures produced over 1.5 goals.