Having seal qualification for the final of the IFCPF World Championships in Salou, Spain, with wins over Northern Ireland, South Korea and Chile, the Scottish CP Football Squad were determined to go one better that their 2022 campaign.

The Scots were up against Northern Ireland again in the final and as the teams took to the pitch in the warm Spanish sunshine, hopes were high of a first World Championships title.

It was Scotland who started the match the strongest and took the lead in the 7^th minute through captain, Matthew Wynne. The Scots grew stronger as the first half progressed and goals from Jamie Mitchell in the 23^rd minute and Mark Robertson in the 24^th minute gave them a comfortable 3-0 lead at half time.

The second half was closely fought but a second goal for Matthew Wynne in the 34^th minute put the tie to bed and Scotland ran our comfortable 4-0 winners. The full-time whistle was met with wild celebrations from the Scotland supporters, players and staff.

In the 3^rd/4^th play off match at the Championships, Chile staged an impressive comeback from 3-1 down at half time to clinch 3^rd place with a 6-4 victory in extra time.

In addition to being presented with the IFCPF World Championships trophy, Scotland captain, Matthew Wynne was awarded the tournament’s Most Valuable Player accolade and Martin Hickman was recognised as the Top Goal Scorer at the Championship.

The Scottish players and staff who have represented Scotland at the IFCPF World Championships are as follows;

James McAlpine

Jamie Kelly

Kerr MacKenzie

Mark Robertson

Martin Hickman – Top Scorer of the Tournament Award (7 goals)

Matthew Wynne – Most Valuable Player Award

Blair Glynn

Sean Millership

Barry Hunter

Christopher Moore

Dean Thornton

Jamie Mitchell

Jon McFarlane

Logan Smith

Billy McAdam (Head Coach)

Ryan Coleman (Coach)

Greig Taylor (Coach)

Kirsty Pitts (Physiotherapist)

The congratulations of everyone at SDS goes to all the players, coaches and support staff on their IFCPF World Championships win.

Game 4: Monday 15th April 2024

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Federico Lovascio’s goal 15 minutes from time gave Italy a surprise win over Scotland, giving them a real chance to make the final.

Lovascio bundled home after two previous efforts were blocked on the goal line, leading to passionate celebrations on the Italy bench, as players and staff alike realised the enormity of the moment. 

Scotland coach William McAdam made six changes to his starting seven with only Barry Hunter keeping his place from the win over Chile, including a competitive debut for youngster James McAlpine.

After a scoreless first half, the game saw its first goal in the 35-minute, as after Lovascio and Mattia Vrech both saw shots stay up, it was third time lucky as the former sent the Italian contingent into raptures.

Though Scotland pushed for a leveller, they were kept out, partly thanks to a string of brilliant saves from Daniele Beccegato. A late curler from Jon McFarlane looked to have equalised, but the Italy goalkeeper clawed it out to preserve the points for his country. A video explaining what they would need to progress to the final is live across IFCPF’s Instagram and TikTok.

 

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UPDATE – Tuesday 16th April 2024: Scotland bag themselves a spot in the IFCPF World Championship final. They will take on Northern Ireland and will hope to repeat their success from their opening game, when they beat them 3-0. 

 

Game 3: Saturday 13th April 2024

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Mark Robertson marked his return to Scotland’s starting lineup with a clinical hat-trick, as Scotland defeated Chile 4-1 to confirm their place in the final.

In his first Scotland start since August, Scotland’s number seven wasted little time on his return to the starting seven, finding the back of the net within the opening three minutes to set William McAdam’s team on their way.

Chile responded past the midway point of the first half, with a brilliant run from Patricio Saavedra affording him space to shoot, and he fired past Christopher Moore to draw Chile level.

The nerves of the Scottish fans were alleviated just before half-time thanks to their talisman Martin Hickman who, after a stellar Jamie Mitchell through ball, restored Scotland’s advantage.

Two goals in 12 second-half minutes for Robertson brought up his hat-trick and put the match beyond doubt, becoming Scotland’s third hat-trick scorer this tournament. Day three sees Scotland needing a point from their final game against Italy to confirm their place at the summit of the standings, while Chile remains on a single point, a clash with Northern Ireland to follow.

IFCPF World Championships 2024, Day 2 – Scotland v South Korea: 

Three goals apiece for Martin Hickman and Sean Millership propelled Scotland to a 6-2 win over South Korea, maintaining their impeccable record in the tournament.

Millership’s first-half goals set up the win, scoring in minutes 15, 21 and 22 in a seven-minute spree, while two of Martin Hickman’s goals came in the second half.

Hickman’s first opened the scoring from the edge of the box, firing home to extend his lead at the top of the goalscoring charts, which now sits at three.

South Korea had their moments to celebrate, including their first goal of the tournament, which came via a brilliant strike from Choi Jongwoon in the 20th minute, the first of three goals in as many minutes.

Hickman, Millership and young talent Kerr Mackenzie were brilliant up forward for Scotland, causing problems for the South Korean defence from the first minute to the last. Scotland will face Chile tomorrow (Saturday 13th), with South Korea facing Northern Ireland.

 

Scotland Start their IFCPF World Championships Campaign with a Win

Scotland’s CP Football Squad travelled to Salou, Spain with high hopes of success in their IFCPF World Championships campaign. The Scots had finished as runners-up when they last competed in this competition in Sardinia in 2022 and were keen to go one better this time round.

Scotland’s opening match in the competition was against old rivals, Northern Ireland earlier today. A busy schedule will also see Scotland face South Korea on 12 April, Chile on the 13 April and Italy on 15 April with the medal matches then taking place on 18 April.

It was to be a winning start to the Championships for the Scots, with an impressive 3-0 opening victory over Northern Ireland. Three goals from Martin Hickman propelled Scotland to the top of the table after the first round of matches.

Scotland dominated possession early, but it took until the 25th minute for them to break down a determined Northern Ireland defense. Hickman was located with a wonderful cross from Matthew Wynne to head home the opener.

Scotland’s second goal came early in the second half, with Hickman curling a delicate shot beyond the keeper into the bottom left corner. He completed his hat-trick in the 46^th minute with a low shot after cutting in from the left to become the first player to score a hat-trick in this tournament.

A really positive start to the Championships for the Scots who will now face South Korea tomorrow.