The national side will face off against Ivory Coast in a friendly at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday and supporters have been soaking the atmosphere in the city.
13:34, 30 Mar 2026Updated 21:25, 30 Mar 2026
Chris Gibson (Image: DAILY RECORD)
The Tartan Army have headed on a party boat down the River Mersey ahead of Scotland’s clash in Liverpool tomorrow night.
The national side will face off against Ivory Coast in a friendly at Everton’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday and supporters have been soaking the atmosphere in the city. It came as a surprise when it was announced in January that Everton’s new ground would be the location for the match but supporters weren’t put off.
Thousands of fans have descended on the city, flooding into bars and restaurants dressed in kilts and Scotland tops. And the North East Tartan Army decided to seize the opportunity and organise a party cruise on the famous Mersey Ferry.
The group of 200 met at sports bar Bierkeller at around 5pm as they downed pints and sang all the usual chants. They were then piped down to Pier Head where they boarded the boat and set sail at around 7.30pm.
Chris Gibson(Image: UGC)
North East Tartan Army chief Chris Gibson, 49, told the Record: “We try to hire a boat in every city we visit on away trips so we had to hire the world famous Mersey ferry when we found out we were playing in Liverpool. We are absolutely buzzing for the cruise.
“We have a couple of young Scottish singers – PG Ciarletta and Evan Jean – performing on the boat. It’s going to be brilliant. We met at Bierkeller at 5pm. The atmosphere has been fantastic.
“There are 200 of us on board and this will be a good warm up for our sold out boat parties in the USA.”
Scotland announced two friendlies at Hampden in January – Saturday’s meeting with Japan, and against Curacao on 30 May – as warm-ups for the finals. Being from the same confederation as Haiti, Curacao were seen as ideal opponents to help prepare for their World Cup group opener in Boston on 14 June.
So, when we were also offered a friendly against Ivory Coast, from the same confederation as another of their Group C rivals, Morocco, the final bit of their preparation jigsaw was in place.
The Ivory Coast had already arranged Saturday’s match against South Korea at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes, which they won 4-0.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke is seen during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match (Image: Getty)
With them already playing in England, Everton keen to host their first international fixture at a stadium opened just over a year ago and due to be a host venue at Euro 2028, and Scotland seeking African opponents, it all came together.
At the time, Scotland boss Steve Clarke said: “We’re pleased to confirm Côte d’Ivoire as our second opponents for the March international window, following on from Japan’s visit to Glasgow. We wanted to face African opposition before we play Morocco in the summer, and I’m sure Côte d’Ivoire will give us a really stern test.
“It will also be good to play at the Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool. The supporters will enjoy the opportunity to visit the new stadium.”
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