Scotland striker Kevin Nisbet has been blown away by the form of Hibs teammate Martin Boyle this season, with the Australian scoring regularly for club and country this term, and Nisbet hopes he get the chance to square off against his Easter Road mate at next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Boyle and his Socceroos colleagues look to have already assured their place at next year’s finals, with Nisbet and the Scotland squad hoping to take a big step towards securing a playoff place tonight with a win over the Faroe Islands.
(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Nisbet was in touch with the Australian after his goal earlier in the week and insisted that he’s confident Scotland can set up a World Cup clash with the Aussies next winter.
“I’m really good friends with Boyley off the park,” Nisbet said.
“The wee man is doing brilliantly at the moment. He’s scored a few for Australia as well which is obviously helping them. I think they’ve won 11 games in a row and it’s incredible for Boyley.
“If he keeps up that form and I keep up mine then it’s good for Hibs.
“We’re always in touch. I congratulated him on his goal the other night. He’s doing very well so hopefully he scores again against Japan.
“Would I fancy facing him in Qatar? Of course but it’s up to us to get there first. We’ve got a long road ahead of us but we back ourselves to do it.”
After Steve Clarke confirmed Lyndon Dykes had been stripped of his penalty-taking responsibilities, Nisbet threw his name into the hat to replace the QPR striker and insists he’ll always back himself from 12 yards despite missing a few in the past.
“Yeah of course. As a striker you always want to score goals. I’ve missed a few but I’ll never stop backing myself to step up to take one.
“We tend to practise them more at club level. Boyley is on them at Hibs and he’s scored a good few but I’ll keep practising and hopefully my turn comes again.”
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