Israel v Scotland: Six Nations win inspires goalkeeper David Marshall
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Venue: Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv Date: Sunday, 28 March Kick-off: 19:45 BST Coverage: Listen live on BBC Radio Scotland DAB/810MW/online; text commentary on the BBC Sport website & app; highlights on BBC One Scotland from 22:30
Scotland’s “enthralling” Six Nations win over France on Friday inspired the nation’s footballers for their meeting with Israel, says David Marshall.
Duhan van der Merwe’s late try gave Gregor Townsend’s side a first tournament win in Paris since 1999.
Steve Clarke’s footballers drew with Austria at Hampden on Thursday and take on Israel in Tel Aviv in their second World Cup qualifier on Sunday.
“That passion, you just felt it was going to happen,” said keeper Marshall.
“We caught their second half, most of the squad, especially the last five minutes was amazing to see. We were enthralled by it. Seeing that last five minutes was brilliant. There’s a feelgood factor.”
Around 5,000 home fans will be allowed inside Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium for Sunday’s match, which will be the fourth meeting between Scotland and Israel in seven months and the sixth inside three years.
The highlight of those games for the Scots was October’s European Championship play-off win on penalties, which preceded the shootout win over Serbia in the final.
“It’s good to know your opposition,” said Marshall. “It was a positive for us going back to the game in October.
“There’ll be no surprises, I don’t think, in either side. We know their strengths and weaknesses.”