STEVE Clarke and the Scotland squad have jetted off to the World Cup in North America on Sunday morning.
The squad has flown out to a training base in Florida, two weeks before the Tartan Army will descend on Boston, for Scotland’s first group match against Haiti on June 14.
Following their group C opener against Haiti, Scotland will then take on Morocco also at the Gillette Stadium outside of Boston, before facing off against Brazil in Miami.
It is the first time since 1998 that Scotland will be part of the World Cup finals, with the hopes of the nation bestowed upon Clarke’s men.
The team was sent off by scores of cheering fans outside their hotel and later on the tarmac at Glasgow Airport.
“This is the third tournament this group has been at, and we want to be the first Scottish team to get to the knockout stage,” Clarke told the BBC before he boarded the team’s plane.
“Hopefully, we can show a bit of tournament experience and make it a summer to remember.”
Clarke’s men beat a 10-man Curacao side in a friendly at Hampden Park on Saturday as part of the team’s World Cup preparations.
Despite cruising to a 4-1 win, Scotland suffered the loss of midfielder Billy Gilmour, who came off at halftime with a knee injury, and has since been ruled out of the tournament.
Tyler Fletcher, the son of former Scotland captain Darren, has been called up to replace Gilmour and could make his international debut on one of the sport’s biggest stages.
Scotland will train at the state-of-the-art facility home to Charlotte FC, North Carolina, before their opening game against the Haitians.
However, Clarke’s men will have one more warm-up game against Bolivia at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday.
