There seems to be an element of surprise to Scotland leading a European Championship qualifying group, but this should not be the case. They have beaten Spain and Norway as part of four victories in four matches to give themselves a great chance of spending next summer in Germany and it has nothing to do with luck.
Steve Clarke has completed four years as head coach and has a contract until 2026, bringing stability and giving him time to instil his philosophy into a team peaking at the right time. Throughout there is a level of quality that has been lacking in the national setup for a long time. There are usually one or two standout players but, finally, there is a group that would make it into most top-flight teams in Europe’s big five leagues.
Against Georgia on Tuesday, as in all of Scotland’s qualifiers, their most important players stood up to be counted. Liverpool’s Andy Robertson was awarded player of the match and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay scored the crucial second goal to ease the team to a 10th group-stage victory in a row in the rain and puddles.
While Georgia were in the changing rooms making the case to not play, Scotland were desperate to get back out on the Hampden Park pitch because they are full of confidence and did not want to lose the momentum they have built up during this campaign.
“We’ve shown everyone we have a real togetherness,” Billy Gilmour said. “We make sure we’re challenging each other every day in training. It’s clearly good for Scotland. There’s a buzz about the place.”
Diversity of experience is as important as camaraderie. Scotland are finding ways to beat everyone put in front of them thanks to the eclectic squad available to Clarke. They ground out a result against Spain, enjoying a mere 25% possession but crucially scored two goals to La Roja’s none, forcing Manchester City’s Rodri to lament: “For me, it’s a bit rubbish because it’s always wasting time. They provoke you. They always fall. This is for me not football.”
Scotland had more possession than Georgia on Tuesday, as well as 14 shots to their opponents’ nine, crucially ensuring the visitors did not get a single one on target.
Scotland possess a lot of knowledge on the pitch as well off it, especially when it comes to European football. Most of their players are working under elite coaches. McTominay has Erik ten Hag at United, Robertson has spent six years with Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool, Kieran Tierney is learning from Mikel Arteta at Arsenal while John McGinn has Unai Emery at Aston Villa and Billy Gilmour has found his feet at Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton. Others can bring a different skill set; Aaron Hickey is playing for Brentford after time abroad at Bologna and Jack Hendry impressed during Club Brugge’s Champions League campaign.
Clarke, meanwhile, spent time under José Mourinho at Chelsea and has evolved into an excellent manager, but the structure within which his teams operate can still be attributed to the organisation he learned at Stamford Bridge. The 59-year-old has been intelligent with his backroom appointments, who have an impressive portfolio of work behind them; assistant Austin MacPhee has international experience with Mexico and Northern Ireland, in addition to working for Danish side Midtjylland; the goalkeeper coach, Chris Wood, occupied the same role with USA and John Carver has managed in Major League Soccer and Cyprus. These varying opinions and methods have been harnessed to produce a team effective in any circumstance.
Finding a way to fit Tierney and Robertson into the same team has paid dividends, helping Hickey to operate in his preferred role at right wing-back, which in turn has made the team solid in defence and a threat on either flank.
Scotland lack a top-quality striker; Lyndon Dykes is not prolific at Championship level but carries out the instructions of his manager to the letter and caused problems for every defender he has faced during qualifying, helping create space for his teammates to exploit.
The job is far from done for Scotland, with trips to Spain, Georgia and Cyprus when the new season starts. But they have laid the foundations for qualification and ruffled a few feathers on the way. This evolving side are diverse of thought and strong of mind. Another year of progress will ensure few will want to face them in Germany.
