By Michael Wood
This article has been updated after Steve Clarke’s squad announcement and press conference on Wednesday the 21st of May and also after the news that Ben Doak and Lyndon Dykes were ruled out of the tournament.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke has named a 27-man squad ahead of the double-header of friendlies against Gibraltar and Finland, where he will have to trim one name by the 7th of June ahead of the nation’s second successive European Championships.
Germany will host the 17th edition of the competition, with the visitors hoping they can record another piece of history after being the first Scottish side to qualify with two games remaining, and that is too, for once, not go home immediately after the group stages as they kick off proceedings against the three-time champions in Munich on the 14th.
Scotland has won 19, drawn nine and lost eight of their previous 37 competitive games since the resumption of football post-COVID-19 in September 2020, with a positive conversion rate of 51%; however, in friendlies, it is a less appealing two wins, four draws and five losses.
Clarke, who has tried to create a mentality similar to that of a club on the international stage, has kept a tight-knit squad throughout, with 40 men called up in the previous 12 months.
Should Clarke choose to have the same balance of personnel in his squad that he did three years prior, he will take the mandatory three goalkeepers, 10 defenders (six centre backs; four full backs), eight midfielders (equal in terms of left and right footedness as well as four more defensive and four more attacking) and five forwards comprised of three strikers and two wingers.
So, how does the former Kilmarnock boss whittle down the numbers – a useful place to start would be with who is not returning from the previous tournament where Scotland’s best result was in a stalemate against England at Wembley, either side of defeats to Czechia and Croatia at Hampden Park.
Departing Euro 2020 members
For a myriad of reasons, it is never safe to make assumptions, especially when it comes to Clarke, who can be acerbic when putting reporters back in their box for getting ideas above their station; however, if one fancied a wager, should everyone be fit, unlikely as that may be, then as many as 16 could return three years later.
Those excluded are:
David Marshall (retired);
Jon McLaughlin (last cap – June 2021; Rangers third-choice goalkeeper);
Declan Gallagher (last cap – June 2021 and spent a campaign in the Championship with Dundee United);
Stephen O’Donnell (last cap – March 2022 and surpassed by Motherwell’s preferred right back last season: Max Johnston);
John Fleck (last cap – March 2021 and only made the squad due to Kenny McLean’s injury);
David Turnbull (last cap – June 2022).
Kevin Nisbet (last cap – Spain 2023 and played once since the 27th of January).
Injury issues
Five players certainly will not be going due to injury, with the pronouncements being that Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson are unavailable because of issues surrounding their torn hamstrings.
John Carver said: “It’s hugely disappointing, he’s [Hickey] not going to be fit, he’s not going to be ready for us, but he’s got a bright future ahead of him.” Before adding: “You can also throw Nathan Patterson from Everton into that as well.”
Also not making it are Lewis Ferguson, who sadly tore his ACL and will be fortunate to play again in 2024; Jacob Brown, whose last appearance was in an 11-minute cameo against Newcastle United at the start of February and has since had surgery to deal with a cartilage issue in his knee.
Dykes was ruled out on Saturday following an incident in training that saw him leave the Lesser Hampden turf – where Scotland have set up their base since leaving Heriot-Watt University’s Oriam in June 2023 – on a stretcher.
Doubts remain over a few names, such as: Stuart Armstrong, another player with a hamstring issue, and expected back on the 7th of June, for Scotland’s friendly with Finland. His last game was on the 20th of April, which ended with him being carried from the field.
In addition to Armstrong, John Souttar and Scott McTominay will not play in the kick about in Faro against Gibraltar. McTominay departed in the FA Cup final after 25 minutes coming on as a sub, whereas Souttar missed Rangers final three games of the season.
Who to cut from the squad that has appeared in the last 12 months
One of Craig Gordon, Liam Kelly and Zander Clark will be left unhappy when Clarke announces who is in the goalkeeping trio heading to mainland Europe.
Clark was entrusted ahead of Kelly in the last two European qualifiers when Gunn was absent, appearing to give him the nod ahead of the Motherwell captain.
Gordon, who is 41 and back up to Clark at Hearts, signed a one-year contract extension taking him to the summer of 2025, following his return to the first team from a leg break which left him recuperating for close to a year.
The case for Gordon is that he possesses that tournament experience – albeit not playing – and is already in that backup role at his club, even though he is desperate to earn back the starting berth ahead of Clark, who has impressed, as expected, after making the move from St Johnstone in September 2022 after spending three months as Gordon’s understudy.
It would be harsh on Kelly, who is 14 years Gordon’s junior – although, with the dearth of quality goalkeepers coming to challenge in the immediate future, you would expect he has many more potential tournaments ahead of him.
As for Robby McCrorie, 26, who played 29 top-flight games – 28 for Livingston across two campaigns – and has now found himself as second fiddle to Jack Butland this campaign after the English internationalist took the gloves from the now-retired Allan McGregor at Rangers, and is the fifth option for his county.
In defense is where the rest of the trimming is required. At right back, Max Johnston and Ross McCrorie will not be in a rush to enjoy their off-season with the news of Hickey and Patterson’s absence; one of them is likely to accompany Ralston, the only right back remaining that has featured in the last year with competitive international starts under Clarke.
Johnston has not been a starter for Sturm Graz this season but has been an option off the bench in 18 league games, as the side from the state of Styria won the double to be the first side other than RB Salzburg to do so since 2006, and first to win the league other than the energy drink sponsored entity in 13 years while competing in Europe, first in the Europa League, followed up by two ties in the Conference League.
Now, winning trophies as a squad member does not equate to ability; however, having the swagger and confidence that material possessions brings can be positive to an individual who was in the Scotland side as recently as October and is still only 20, as opposed to uncapped McCrorie, Robby’s twin, playing for middling Bristol City in the Championship, and is perhaps more suited to being a defensive midfielder, a role he spent a lot of time playing at Aberdeen in any case.
Sliding across to centre back, Dominic Hyam played one minute in that famous win in Oslo but has not been in the squad since due to others such as Jack Hendry, Grant Hanley, Ryan Porteous and John Souttar. But Souttar being higher up the pecking order does not mean he will be in Germany either, with left-footers Liam Cooper and Scott McKenna also expected to go and with McTominay able to go in as a right-sided centre back in an emergency, leaving that squad space better utilised elsewhere.
Unfortunately for Josh Doig, he is not Andrew Robertson, Kieran Tierney or Greg Taylor – Clarke’s first three choices at left back. The last time the now relegated Sassuolo full back was in the squad (November 2023) due to injuries to Hickey, Robertson and Tierney in games that Taylor started while Doig sat in his tracksuit on the bench.
Fresh tournament faces
Now it is time to fill in those remaining spots in the squad, starting with three players who did not make it three years ago.
Gunn – an under-21 internationalist for England under their current first-team boss Gareth Southgate – decided last year he was Scottish after all, due to Gordon’s absence and sensing the opportunity that the gloves were up for grabs.
And back-to-back clean sheets against Cyprus and Spain were as good a start as any to an international career, retaining his place after injury and with the looming shadow of Gordon back in the squad.
Ahead of Gunn is Porteous, whose debut in September 2022 was nearly three years after making his first squad. The opposition was Ukraine in the final matchday of their Nations League B group, needing at least a draw to earn promotion; Scotland managed that in a backs-to-the-wall performance in Kraków, Poland, and took home a clean sheet.
Since then, due to Hanley’s absence with an achilles problem, Porteous has started every competitive game except for the final qualifier in Norway, which was 90 minutes with no consequences as the nation was already qualified and the Nords had not.
In midfield, McLean cruelly picked up a knee ligament injury on the last day of the 2020-21 Championship season with Norwich City in a campaign they won as champions. This season, he won Player of the Season for the Canaries and was the man who netted the winner in Oslo that helped Scotland on their way to Euro 2024. He will be the alternative to Callum McGregor, and that is more than ample.
Out from the cold
Long absences from the team should not necessarily be the reason to preclude some players, such as James Forrest (Last cap: June 2021) and Ryan Fraser (Last cap: November 2022). There are several sound arguments against these players returning to the fold, but with an expanded squad, there is scope for their inclusion.
The case for Fraser is the hardest to make due to his perceived behaviour of pulling out from the Scotland squad that was due to play a World Cup qualifier against Moldova on the continent and then seen pictured training with Newcastle United ‘testing’ the calf injury.
Where the truth lies, unfortunately for Fraser, is irrelevant because the perception has held, and it does contradict with the inclusive of the collective unity that Clarke wants from his squad.
“The best way to answer that one is to say I have a squad of players who want to be here,” the Scotland manager said.
“They are all here, so let us talk about those boys. The situation with Ryan will resolve itself in time. Listen, it is what it is. This is not the time to talk about somebody who is not in the squad. We have built a really strong squad.”
What goes in favour of the Southampton loanee is that he is the most recent call-up outside of that 2023 Scotland squad, so he is not necessarily leaping ahead of players to get back into the team, but how that would sit with those in camp is what Clarke has to weigh up.
Forrest is 32 – as if that age is bordering on the decrepit – but had a renascence in the previous two months, playing and scoring the most he has in a Premiership campaign since 2019-20. Now, while of the five goals he has scored in his side’s pursuit of retaining the title, three of them have been cherry-toppers – of no consequence on the outcome of the result – but his double against Dundee was match-winning and certainly pulled him into the national discourse about the merits of taking him to Germany.
What makes the case stronger for Forrest in particular, but Fraser in a lesser sense, is that Scotland does not have a wealth of wingers – Fraser is an inverted wide man coming off the left – and should Clarke need to change the system to exploit an opponent’s weakness, he does not have the personnel without the pair.
These players are not starters in Clarke’s preferred 3-4-2-1 formation but finishers with the increase in substitutes from three to five (changes implemented by the International Football Association Board (IFAB) at the recommendation of FIFA in June 2020 as a measure to help ease concerns coming out of the pandemic). It has made these bench options more potent as Video Assistant Referee checks delaying restarts and the new laws surrounding how time-wasting is applied has seen average game times in the Premier League rise from 96:34 in 2020/21 to 101:42 in 23/24 and the percentage of goals by substitutes has leapt from 8.8% to 14.8%.
Wildcard
Ben Doak’s meniscus tear in December meant his return to the training ground only came in May. Yet, the 18-year-old winger would present a different option to what Scotland has been without since the isolation of Fraser and Forrest from the squad: pace, something that Clarke agrees with.
“Ben has a lot of talent, he catches your eye, pace is something we have not got in abundance. He’s something a little bit different. I have never had the chance to work closely with Ben. It just seemed like the right opportunity to put him in, with the squad going up to 26 from 23. We will have a look at Ben and see how he does.”
The teenager has a gallus streak, and because of it, Jürgen Klopp gave him the odd opportunity across all competitions that the Anfield outfit participated in over the last couple of seasons: Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
Sadly a flare up in training curbed any hopes of him being included in the final 26, and his replacement could have came in the aforementioned Fraser, however, Clarke turned to New York Red Bull’s forward Lewis Morgan on Wednesday.
Morgan’s Scotland career has consisted of 28 minutes off the bench across two friendlies against Peru and Mexico over six years ago now when Alex McLeish was at the helm.
His last selection for the national team came in 2019, under Clarke, when on the bench for the victorious double-header against Cyprus and Kazakhstan in November 2019 as a 22-year old in what was the last international games Scotland played for nine months.
It raised eyebrows initially as since the resumption of football following Covid-19, Clarke had resisted selecting from Major League Soccer – a league Morgan has been operating in over the last four years against previously capped players under Clarke in Johnny Russell and Stuart Findlay, a former international in Danny Wilson as well as Ryan Gauld and Sam Nicholson.
However, it makes perfect sense as Scotland now has a left sided wing option to compliment Forrest on the right, as both are dynamic threats in the final third should Clarke require to change approach within games.
In Dykes’ absence, Tommy Conway was called in as a replacement on Tuesday.
Conway, 21, is eligible to turn out for Scotland through his Stirling-born grandfather, came through the youth set up at Bristol City, and has found the net in his three previous outings after a barring run of four games without a goal for the national team’s under 21s – his most recent effort coming in Turkey on Monday.
The Robins Player of the Season, scored half of his 20 Championship goals in the campaign just gone for the side that finished in 11th, and will be welcomed into the fold by domestic teammate McCrorie.
Euros squad prediction (bold indicates Euro 2020 member)
Goalkeepers
GK: Angus Gunn, Craig Gordon, Zander Clark.
Defenders
LB: Andrew Robertson ©, Greg Taylor.
LCB: Kieran Tierney, Scott McKenna.
CB: Grant Hanley, Liam Cooper.
RCB: Jack Hendry, Ryan Porteous.
RB: Anthony Ralston, Ross McCrorie.
Midfielders
LDM: Callum McGregor, Kenny McLean.
RDM: Billy Gilmour, Ryan Jack.
LAM: John McGinn (vc), Ryan Christie.
RAM: Scott McTominay (3rd c), Stuart Armstrong.
Forwards
W: James Forrest, Lewis Morgan.
CF: Ché Adams, Lawrence Shankland, Tommy Conway.
(Photo credit: Scotland National Team)
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