Scotland

Come 5pm on saturday it'll be a cup final atmosphere, after months of triumph and occasional tribulation it is all coming down to one game. If we win we go through if don't then we well probably don't but like England qualification for the Euro 2008 finals would be out of our hands.

Needless to say even getting this far is some achivement and if our slightly over arrogant neighbours down south had down so well in such circumstances they wouldn't be getting half the stick they will get should they fail to qualify themselves. If we don't make it then it is because we've been pipped at the last by two of Europe's and the worlds best footballing teams in France and Italy.

We have just to beat Italy on our own patch to upset the odds and knock out the current World Cup holders. A team expert at digging out results when it needs them we can but hope we play out of our skins and they fall short of their best and with luck histroy will repeat itself as the previous time Italy won the World Cup in 1982 they then failed to qualify for the European Championship finals in 1984.

We haven't been at a major finals since 1998, having prior to that not missed a WC finals between 1974 and 1990 and making the Europeans also in 1992 and 1996. Ok we haven't ever done all that well when we got there but this time more than any just getting there will be as great an achievement for the Scottish National team as anything in it's history. I've everything crossed we can do it, we have a no bad team that are playing with believe and with guts. One more push and they can look forward to lifting Scottish football right out the doldrums and finally putting to rest the fact that we've never gotten past a group stage at a major finals.

Just so long as we get there though everyone will be happy.