In Steve Clarke’s side’s first 2026 World Cup warm-up game, Japan beat Scotland 1-0 thanks to a late goal from Junya Ito.
Clark’s players left the Hampden Park pitch in a state of euphoria after a dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark in November to book their place in the North American final, but their return to the National Stadium was a more sedate affair.
Both teams performed well in the first half, but Hajime Moriyasu’s side created more chances after the break, with substitute Ito breaking the deadlock in the 84th minute with a shot past goalkeeper Angus Gunn, leaving Scotland without a win in four games against Japan.
Scotland face Ivory Coast at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday night, and after two more warm-up games against Curaçao and yet-to-be-named opponents, they will take on their biggest stage in America for the first time in 28 years, facing Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in their group.
Even if there was a sense of anticlimax in the game against Japan, the Tartans will undoubtedly see more life from the home side in key moments this summer.
Middlesbrough striker Tommy Conway was handed his first start, while captain Andy Robertson won his 91st cap, making him second alongside former Aberdeen and Manchester United goalkeeper Jim Leighton.
Celtic’s Japan captain Daenen Maeda was the most familiar face to the home fans.
The visitors, heading to their eighth consecutive World Cup final, overcame an early scare.
Scott McTominay had a golden chance to take the lead in the eighth minute when fellow midfielder John McGinn crossed from the right, but his unconvincing shot from 10 yards was deflected off the post by Japanese keeper Zion Suzuki.
Scott McTominay comes closest to Scotland
Shortly after, on the other side, Joel Fujita was given time and space to test Gunn with a strong drive from 30 yards to go, and Gunn saved Kodai Sano’s long-range shot just before the half-hour mark.
As Japan stepped up their attack, the home team defended a series of corner kicks, and in the 38th minute, Sano fired a side-footed shot from inside the box that hit the top of the goal bar. The match went back and forth.
Gunn denied Yuito Suzuki when Japan made a deliberate break, but McTominay’s header was saved by Suzuki just before half-time, but the Napoli playmaker had a free-kick from 25 yards early in the second half that the Parma keeper tipped over the bar.
Suzuki then parried Robertson’s drive over the post and Scotland increased their pace.
McGinn and Lyndon Dykes were replaced by Ryan Christie and George Hurst shortly after the end, and Japan took a chance with a shot from the edge of the box from a corner kick cleared by Kaoru Mitoma, one of the many substitutes, but Gunn denied Ito moments later.
The threat from the away team grew even stronger in the 69th minute when Scottish midfielder Kenny McLean cleared Ito’s dink shot from the line, and Hurst drove into the side netting.
Findlay Curtis replaced Conway in the 80th minute, but four minutes later Genk midfielder Ito burst into the Scotland box and beat Gunn from 12 yards to end the stalemate.
Ito scores the winning goal for Japan
“Little Lessons” for Clark
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Scotland head coach Steve Clarke believes his players will learn from their narrow loss to Japan in a friendly at Hampden Park.
Steve Clarke, head coach of Scotland:
“We have to look at quality opponents. We are playing against a top-class team and towards the end they are bringing in more and more powerful players.
“I took the opposite path because there were players who needed to be on the pitch for a few minutes, but at the end of the game they had to defend.
“It’s just about continuing to work and keep working on what we’re doing.
“I didn’t expect it to be a low-scoring game and it was. The goals we conceded also came from bad decisions of going forward too early and we were unorganized after defending set-pieces.”
“We can learn lessons little by little, but I think it shows against the top teams that if you make the wrong decision you will be punished.
“It was disappointing to lose the game, but to be honest, I don’t think it was a game we should have lost.
“We will go back and analyze the video. There are one or two things in the game that I thought were decent. I thought we defended very well. I thought the two centre-backs were good. I thought Angus was really good in goal.”
