In a normal World Cup year kids would be putting the finishing touches to sticker albums and many home offices would be getting set up to keep one eye on the action, but this time we have to wait until late November for the tournament to start and we have the odd situation of spots still being up for grabs long after the draw was made in early April.

If you need a reminder, the reward for either Wales, Scotland or Ukraine is a place in Group B with Iran, USA and, wait for it… England.

All the matches will be played in Al Rayyan.

Scotland take on Ukraine at Hampden in a delayed World Cup play-off semi-final, with the winners going on to face Wales in Cardiff on Sunday.

Scotland aim to take one step closer to ending a 24 year wait for a place on the biggest stage of all, while the visitors hope to provide some light for a nation under attack amid the terrible darkness of war.

It’s sure to be an emotionally charged evening, played out against an ear-splitting wall of sound, so let’s crack on with the build-up…

Image source, SNS