JOHN Swinney has predicted the exact scores in Scotland's World Cup games with just over a fortnight to go until the team kick off their campaign.
Scotland are set to play Haiti and Morocco in Boston before taking on Brazil in their final group game in Miami.
It has been 28 years since Scotland last competed at a World Cup and they have been drawn two of the same opponents as they had in 1998 in Brazil and Morocco.
Speaking exclusively to The National at Bute House, Swinney gave some optimistic predictions as he suggested Scotland would go on an unbeaten run in Group C.
He guessed Scotland would kick off their campaign with a 2-1 win against Haiti.
The First Minister then revealed his boldest prediction of the lot as he tipped Steve Clarke's men to overcome the eighth best team in the world in Morocco.
"I think Morocco slightly more challenging but let me be optimistic and bank on 2-1 for Scotland," Swinney said.
Six points would be more than enough to see Scotland through the group stage and into the knockout stages for the first time.
But Swinney said he wanted to be "super optimistic", as he predicted a 1-1 draw against Brazil meaning Scotland would finish on seven points and would even have a decent chance of topping the group.
Swinney will be travelling to Boston to watch Scotland in their opening game on June 14. The following day has been declared a bank holiday to mark Scotland's long-awaited return to the tournament.
Clarke's side qualified for the World Cup after an emphatic 4-2 victory over Denmark at Hampden Park, with Scott McTominay's memorable overhead kick now memorialised on an exclusive set of Bank of Scotland £20 notes.
Swinney was at the game back in November, telling The National it had been a "tremendous honour" to have been the first Scottish leader to witness Scotland qualifying for a World Cup.
“The goals were stunning and the atmosphere and the joy of the Scotland fans before the match, during the match and particularly after the match was a wonderful spectacle to see,” he said at the time.
“I’m enormously proud of the team."
