Now that Steve Clarke has recalled Craig Gordon to his Scotland squad, the question is now whether he’ll get the gloves for Scotland’s biggest game in a generation.
The Scots head to Belgrade next week for their Euro 2020 play-off clash against Serbia, with the winner booking their spot at next summer’s finals.
The Hearts stopper has been impressive since returning to Tynecastle, earning them the points against Arbroath with a fine stop in their 1-0 Championship win before denying Hibs with a stunning point-blank save from Kevin Nisbet at the weekend as Robbie Neilson’s side reached the Scottish Cup final.
He’s now back in the international fold alongside former Hearts ‘keeper Jon McLaughlin, now with Rangers, and Marshall.
It’ll almost certainly be between Gordon and Marshall in the fight for the number one position for next week’s game, with Nations League games against Slovakia and the omnipresent Israel to follow.
Clarke now must decide whether he sticks with the goalkeeper that was the penalty hero in the semi-final, or goes with who’s in the best form.
Marshall suffered a minor injury that kept the Derby ‘keeper out of the Rams’ game against Cardiff last midweek, but returned between the sticks for their weekend draw at Bournemouth.
Marshall has done extremely well for Scotland over their last few appearances and has done nothing to warrant being dropped.
However, Gordon has been on top of his game since finally returning to competitive action, and has proven more than once that he can make the difference with match winning saves.
Given what’s at stake next week, that might persuade Clarke to give him the nod as he seeks every advantage possible to get the job done against a formidable Serbia side.
The Scotland boss hailed Gordon’s bravery in going back to his formative club, and isn’t surprised to see the ‘keeper playing so well.
He said: He made a brave decision to go back to Hearts and get games.
"It’s no surprise to me he’s playing at the level he’s at."
Club boss Robbie Neilson added: “It’s great for Craig and it’s great for the club too.
“One of the reasons Craig came back to Hearts was to get regular gametime and hopefully work his way back into the Scotland squad so I’m delighted that he’s been able to do that so quickly.
“You look at the saves he made in last week’s semi final win over Hibs, and at other points during the season, and you know he’s a top, top quality goalkeeper.
“We’re lucky to have him at Hearts and he’ll be thrilled that his form has been recognised by Steve Clarke. I’m sure he’ll do a great job if he’s called upon for any of Scotland’s three games.”
