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Scotland “know what’s at stake”, says Andy Robertson, as Steve Clarke’s side seek the win in Moldova that will guarantee a World Cup play-off place.

Moldova restricted Scotland to a 1-0 win at Hampden in September.

“We know when you get close to an end of a campaign there’s no room for error,” said captain Robertson, 27.

“We know what’s at stake. We’ve put ourselves in a really good spot in terms of going into the last two games being in control of our own destiny.

“We know how hard they made it at Hampden and we know we’re in for a tough night, so we need to be at our best. But we’ve been good at dealing with the pressure – it’s usually brought out the best in us.”

What do Scotland need to happen?

• A Scotland win guarantees second place and a draw would be enough if Israel don’t win in Austria later on Friday
• If Israel win that game and Scotland don’t, Clarke’s side will likely need to take something against Denmark on Monday
• If Israel lose, Clarke’s side are guaranteed a play-off place regardless
• The game in Moldova has no impact on the play-off seeding, but Scotland would likely need to avoid defeat against the Danes at Hampden to earn a home semi-final

No fitness worries for Tierney

After finding the net in four consecutive internationals, QPR striker Lyndon Dykes is suspended, along with Bournemouth’s attacking midfielder Ryan Christie.

Norwich defender Grant Hanley has withdrawn through injury, along with Newcastle winger Ryan Fraser, while the versatile Scott McTominay was sent home from the training camp in Spain with a throat virus.

Hearts centre-back John Souttar was given a late call-up and Kieran Tierney is fit despite not playing since 18 October. The Arsenal defender was an unused substitute at the weekend after recovering from an ankle problem.

Stoke City forward Jacob Brown is included in the squad for the first time and Clarke commented: “Anyone who I pick for the squad I feel can contribute – anyone who’s in this squad whether it’s from the start or off the bench.”

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What do we know about Moldova?

Ranked 181st in the world, Moldova prop up Group F with their sole point from eight matches coming from a 1-1 draw at home to the Faroe Islands on matchday one.

They lost four goals to Denmark and Israel at the Zimbru Stadium, while Austria needed a stoppage-time strike to wrap up a 2-0 success in Chisinau.

At Hampden in September, Scotland could not add to an early Dykes tap-in, with several good chances spurned.

Italian coach Roberto Bordin was appointed before the campaign and has won just one from 10, a friendly against Azerbaijan.

“They surprised me a little bit at Hampden,” said Clarke. “They were quite progressive, they wanted to be on the front foot when they had the chance to go forward, they went forward in numbers, always with a good defensive block.

“They defended well against us, although we did create enough chances to maybe have a more comfortable night than a 1-0. They went to Israel last month and only lost 2-1. So I think they’ve improved over the course of the campaign.”

Match stats

• Scotland have won two of their three internationals against Moldova (D1), triumphing 1-0 earlier this World Cup qualifying campaign with a goal from Dykes.
• In the only previous meeting in Moldova, the sides played out a 1-1 draw in October 2004, with Steven Thompson cancelling out a Sergiu Dadu goal.
• Victory for Scotland would ensure them a play-off spot – they haven’t qualified for the World Cup since 1998.
• Moldova are winless in their past 18 World Cup qualifiers (D3 L15), losing their past seven in a row by an aggregate score of 23-3. Their last win was in October 2013 away at Montenegro, a 5-2 win.
• Scotland have won their last four matches, all in World Cup qualifiers – the Scots last won five games in a row between May and October 2007 under Alex McLeish, winning six consecutively.
• Moldova have won one of their last 38 qualifying matches for major tournaments (D5 L32), a 1-0 home win over Andorra in June 2019 in what was a Euros qualifier.
• Scotland have won nine of their last 14 World Cup qualifiers (D4 L1), with their previous nine World Cup qualifying wins coming over a period of 27 matches (W9 D6 L12).
• No player has scored more goals in World Cup 2022 qualification for Scotland than John McGinn (4 – level with Dykes), although all four of his goals so far have come in home matches.