Cabo Verde - Scotland's model of success against Morocco?
Scotland will hope to replicate Cabo Verde's defensive success against Spain as they prepare for their crucial World Cup match against Morocco.
The Tartan Army have made a stunning takeover in Boston and it has been the standout story of the World Cup so far. However, on the pitch, Cabo Verde's shock draw against European champions Spain created a huge buzz in the tournament. In their World Cup debut, the African team - ranked 67th in the world and with a population of less than 500,000 - produced a stellar defensive performance to stop a star-studded Spain squad, widely expected to become world champions for a second time. Scotland know that if they can replicate Cabo Verde's result and get a point against Morocco at Boston Stadium on Friday, they will almost certainly qualify for the knockout stages for the first time at a major tournament. So what can Scotland's players learn from Cabo Verde's incredible performance? Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry performed well in Scotland's opening match, both making key interventions as Haiti accelerated in search of an equalizer following John McGinn's shot. Whether coach Steve Clarke retains this pair of centre-backs or brings Scott McKenna back into the squad - he could switch to a three centre-back system and use them all - the entire Scottish defense needs to show fierce determination to protect the goal like Cabo Verde did against Spain. "One of the big things that Cabo Verde has done, and the manager has talked about that, is the culture of the country and making sure that everyone is involved in that. If you do that, everyone will work for each other," former Scotland international Pat Nevin said after watching the match at the Atlanta stadium for BBC Radio 5 Live. "It was fantastic to see the players working for each other. They spent most of the game in their own 18-yard half, not all of it but when they countered, they were very brave and counter-attacked in numbers. To do that and keep that level of concentration, you can't do it if you're a group of individuals, you can only do it if you're a team, if you believe in each other. And that showed clearly. I saw Sidny Cabral start the game and thought, 'Oh my god, this is a disaster waiting to happen' because of the way he tackled - but he did it all with precision. Former Scotland defender Willie Miller was also impressed with Cabo Verde's defensive discipline and emphasized the level of concentration to stop Spain, something Scotland will certainly have to show against Morocco's attacking threats. "Cabo Verde played a 4-5-1 formation, they defended deep and pressed the opposition very quickly," said Miller, who played at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. "Sometimes you need a bit of luck. Their goalkeeper was in extremely good form and didn't look like he was going to lose. But it was a long time with that formation. You often feel mentally tired when you have to work a lot without the ball and I think that can be was a problem - but not against Cabo Verde. They had organisation, team spirit, and form, a goalkeeper in good form, limiting any space between defence, midfield and attack, and then the belief that they could hold on and get a draw which was what we needed against Morocco. counter-attacking, especially late on, to ease the pressure at the back. They could have even claimed a famous win, as defender Borges almost scored with a late header and a couple of late counter-attacks left Spain in trouble as they pressed forward in search of a goal Gannon-Doak, a stand-out player against Haiti, will be vital in taking Scotland forward. "Ben Gannon-Doak is obviously a huge weapon for Scotland in terms of the way he takes opponents out on the touchline," said McCann. "He has shown in his career with Scotland that he can play from the left, the right, and beat opponents like they don't exist. What I want to see is him working on the final pass. Passing people is usually not a problem. The problem is what you do once you're in that position.
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