Ryan Christie has admitted the pain of failing to qualify for the knockout rounds at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 will give him an added incentive perform at his very best for Scotland at the World Cup next month.
The Bournemouth midfielder is looking forward to flying over to the United States following the warm-up friendly against Curacao at Hampden this afternoon and getting preparations for the Group C matches against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil underway in earnest.
However, the 31-year-old is not interested in just taking part in the international tournament for the first time in his career – he is eager for the national team to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.
The former Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Aberdeen and Celtic player was devastated when Scotland failed to make it out of their section at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 and stressed the disappointment of those failures will drive him on in the coming weeks.
Read more:
- It was a great idea: Dick Advocaat recalls plan to move Celtic and Rangers to England
- Scotland talisman in tribute to ‘unbelievable’ Steve Clarke as manager pens new deal
- World Cup chance payback for resilient Scotland talisman Grant Hanley after many lows
“Probably from the last Euros, most of us who were there still have that feeling of what could have been,” he said. “We maybe let ourselves down a little bit. You need to carry that into this tournament.
“It is a bit of extra motivation and can add bite to our play. We are desperate to go over there, give a good account of ourselves, be successful and get out of the groups.
“This is the one we wanted to tick off, going to a World Cup. Maybe there will be a little bit more of a big tournament feeling. But everyone is desperate to go over there and do well too.”
Christie continued, “I think we could have gone further at the last Euros. I think if you ask the other boys they would say the same. I think the first game was incredibly tough against an unbelievable Germany side.
“I think we gave a decent account of ourselves, but it’s hard to bounce back in the Switzerland game. Especially after that, it is hard to just go and try and play free-flowing football. We had to be a bit more conservative.
“That last game against Hungary was just a wee bit frustrating at the end because you think we probably had a little bit more in the tank or we could have a better account of ourselves to show.
“So that’s the frustration. We’re over it, qualifying for this World Cup certainly helped that. But you need to take that feeling and remember it because you don’t want it to happen again.”
Scotland were missing injured quartet Lewis Ferguson, Ben Gannon-Doak, Lyndon Dykes and Aaron Hickey at Euro 2024 and all four of those players have been named in Steve Clarke’s 26-man squad for the World Cup finals.
Christie feels their presence - along with teenage Rangers winger Findlay Curtis, who has only made one international appearance - will help the national team to shine and challenge strongly for a place in the last 32.
“It’s those younger boys pushing through who are not only helping but actually setting the standards themselves and bringing a new dynamic that we’ve not really had,” he said. “It just adds a different string to our bow which we need.
Read more:
- Scotland striker backs Rangers target to handle Ibrox heat and do the 'dirty stuff'
- 'Best player in Scotland' Lawrence Shankland in contention for a World Cup start
- Juninho Bacuna on making World Cup history, Dick Advocaat, Rangers and Steven Gerrard
“Look at Doaky. I get to train with him down at Bournemouth. He’s probably not something we’ve had in a good few years in the Scotland set-up - an actual out-and-out winger with a bit of pace to get him behind. These boys, like I said, add another string to our bow.
“I think they’re all desperate to go to the World Cup and have an amazing tournament. I know Ben is, so fingers crossed they do that.”
Gannon-Doak has spent much of this year on the sidelines with an injury but Christie was pleased to report that his club mate has fully recovered and is keen to feature in the send-off match against Curacao.
“He’s good to go,” he said. “I was buzzing when he managed to get back fit. In the last game of the season I think he got a good half an hour and played well. He certainly looked sharp this week in training, so I think he’s buzzing to get going along with everyone else.”
