Scotland can take inspiration from Wales, says Matt Ritchie

Matt Ritchie says Scotland can take inspiration from Wales when they start their World Cup qualifying campaign this weekend.

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Gordon Strachan's side were the only Home Nation not to qualify for Euro 2016 but Wales went on to reach the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners Portugal after a successful tournament in France.

The Scots start their qualifying campaign against Malta on Sunday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD, and while Ritchie is expecting a tougher game than some may anticipate, he wants Scotland to take inspiration from the exploits of Chris Coleman's side earlier this summer as they aim to reach Russia.

"It's said we should win this, we should win that, but nothing is won on paper. The lads have to go out and perform and that's why in the Euros you saw so many surprise results.

"The group stages are the same. The so-called teams you should beat are sometimes the toughest games and as long as you're concentrating and prepared for what is in front of you I think we will be ok.

"No one expected Wales to do so well in the Euros and they have done fantastic so hopefully we can have the same sort of impact on our group.

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"There is always pressure, from the outside, from the inside, from each other. Not just in the campaign, in training day in, day out, so we are used to that but we need to make sure we rise to it."

You can watch Malta v Scotland Live on Sky Sports 1 on Sunday from 7pm.

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