'understated Start Shows Clarke's Scotland Are Back In The Game'

As ever, Steve Clarke was heroically deadpan, talking up his team's honesty and work-rate successful securing a valuable World Cup qualification constituent against Denmark successful Copenhagen, but only going truthful far.

Clarke does praise, but successful moderation. He approaches specified things pinch suspicion. He tin smell hype astatine a 1000 paces. He salutes his players for their endeavour and their pride, but position is ne'er acold distant erstwhile he's around.

He smiled - we deliberation - astatine a promising commencement to Scotland's bid to make a first World Cup since 1998. He said thing of nan imaginable psychology of nan night, but it was obvious.

In taking a constituent from nan Parken, Scotland person damaged 1 of their 2 main rivals successful nan group. In what is much of a sprint than a marathon - six games each told - they've already put Denmark connected nan backmost foot.

The Danes person to spell to Greece connected Monday and they'll beryllium underdogs now. Greece are an emerging unit who did Scotland 3-0 astatine Hampden successful March earlier taking attraction of Bulgaria 4-0 and Slovakia 4-1. They hammered Belarus 5-1 connected Friday.

Come Monday, if Greece proceed their fantabulous form, Denmark's run mightiness beryllium successful sizeable problem pinch 1 constituent from a imaginable six. Scotland could person four, if they do nan basal against Belarus successful Budapest.

We're projecting here, but there's nary harm successful that. Clarke's squad person Greece and Belarus astatine location successful nan adjacent window. If they spell into it pinch 4 points from six they'll beryllium emotion bully astir themselves. There's nary request to beryllium giddy, but location are reasons to beryllium hopeful.

This is not each that normal erstwhile it comes to Scotland and World Cup qualification. Too often since their past motion successful 1998, their aspirations person suffered early on.

In nan qualification for nan 2018 World Cup they won 1 of their first 4 games. Four years earlier that they started pinch 2 location draws and efficaciously took themselves retired of nan running. Four years earlier that they mislaid to Macedonia successful their first crippled and won only 1 of their first four.

It was moreover worse up of nan 2006 World Cup - nan lights went retired early pinch a location tie against Slovenia, a location nonaccomplishment against Norway and 1 from their adjacent 2 games. Done.

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Clarke's ne'er excessively up and ne'er excessively down. Against a Denmark squad that is classed 26 places supra them successful nan rankings, Scotland worked for illustration demons and deserved their point. A tie connected nan roadworthy against nan expected champion squad successful nan group was a sound start.

When his squad was announced location would person been disorder astir nan inclusion of Lyndon Dykes - he was impressively combative passim nan nighttime - and astir apt much of nan aforesaid anger that greets each Scotland squad that has Grant Hanley successful defence.

Clarke picks him astir each clip - and Hanley was outstanding. An aged schoolhouse defender who loves defending. "A magnet to nan ball," said erstwhile Scotland skipper and centre-half Willie Miller successful nan BBC Radio Scotland Sportsound studio. And if you are minded to disagree pinch nan awesome man amended bring your A game.

What was admirable was that a number of these Scotland players person not had easy beginnings to their season. Angus Gunn has not played a nine crippled since past May. Lewis Ferguson has been an unused substitute successful Bologna's 2 games this season. Che Adams is successful and retired pinch Torino. Dykes has started 1 of Birmingham's six games.

Aaron Hickey, has conscionable returned to shot aft astir 2 years retired injured. With Brentford he had 77 minutes of action nether his loop since October 2023 earlier facing Denmark. In his 70 minutes pinch Scotland it looked for illustration he'd ne'er been away. His capacity was massively awesome and reassuring, He's still only 23-years-old.

Andy Robertson has had to woody pinch nan nonaccomplishment of his Liverpool team-mate and friend, Diogo Jota. He said astir that nan different time - and it was powerful. Robertson, and his team, stood up really good successful Copenhagen. It wasn't all-singing, all-dancing. Nobody tin declare it was a point of wonder, but it was a capacity built connected grit and it was a constituent that could matter a awesome woody successful nan adjacent fewer months.

It's difficult to support way of nan number of times Clarke has been written disconnected arsenic Scotland caput coach, truthful let's conscionable opportunity that we've been successful nan movie erstwhile aliases doubly since his assignment much than six years ago.

There were those early games - played four, mislaid four, goals for one, goals against 13. There was nan disappointment of a winless Euros successful 2021, nan World Cup exit astatine Hampden astatine nan hands of Ukraine successful 2022, followed by nan mind-alteringly mediocre 3-0 nonaccomplishment to a Republic of Ireland squad that couldn't bargain a triumph earlier arriving astatine Hampden.

There was 1 triumph successful 16 games betwixt 2023-2024 and 4 losses successful a row, nan worst of them being that soulless conclusion to Hungary astatine nan Euros successful Germany. Calls for Clarke to spell really did deed a crescendo that summer.

And past location was nan caller activity of disbelievers erstwhile Greece and Iceland came to Hampden and won 3-0 and 3-1 and weren't flattered by their separator of victory. If you'd asked Scotland fans astir nan travel to Denmark they mightiness person said they were travelling much successful dream than expectation.

That's still a wise mindset erstwhile reasoning astir really nan remainder of this group mightiness cookware retired - assurance laced pinch caution, positivity laced pinch prudence. They're up and running, though. Clarke, nan man pinch truthful galore ups and downs successful this gig, is backmost successful nan game.