Scotland will be backed by a tartan army of up to 200,000 fans at Euro 2024 but they travel to Germany with more hope than expectation after a trying time for Steve Clarke’s side.
Scotland qualified for only the second major tournament in 26 years in October but went winless in seven consecutive matches before beating Gibraltar 2-0.
That run has come at a time when the quality of their opponents has improved, with losses to England, Spain, France and the Netherlands highlighting the gap in ability that remains between Scotland and the best teams in Europe, despite the progress they have made since Clarke took over in 2019.
The opening match of the tournament, against hosts Germany in Munich on June 14, is a daunting prospect.
But with matches against Switzerland and Hungary in Group A, Scotland believe they can progress beyond the group stage of a major tournament for the first time in their history.
“This team has been great to me and great to their country and now they have a chance to make a little bit of history, let’s see if they can do it,” Clark said.
“We will be facing strong teams and will be expected to perform at the highest level. We need to perform at our best in the three group stage matches.”
Coach Clark has lost many key players to injuries.
Neither of his preferred right-backs, Aaron Hickey or Nathan Paterson, were included in the reserve squad, as was Lewis Ferguson, who was named Serie A’s Midfielder of the Season after his performances for Bologna.
A recent training ground injury has ruled striker Lyndon Dykes out for Euro 2024, dealing a new blow to a goalscoring squad.
The only two strikers Clarke has confirmed he is available for signing are Southampton’s Che Adams and Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland.
Dangerous men. But it was Scotland’s goal-scoring performance from midfield, ahead of a Norway side blessed with the talents of Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, that sealed their place in Germany.
Aston Villa captain John McGinn and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay combined to score 10 of Scotland’s 17 goals in the qualifiers.
The defence also features two players with Premier League experience in Liverpool’s Andy Robertson and Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney.
Three years ago, Scotland’s appearance in football’s first major tournament for a generation was a bittersweet experience.
COVID-19 restrictions limited attendance to just 12,000 at Hampden Park for the home games against the Czech Republic and Croatia.
The Tartan Army are planning to make up for lost time, with the British Consulate in Munich predicting that up to 200,000 Scottish fans could head to the tournament, with the team’s matches taking place in Munich, Cologne and Stuttgart.
Many of the squad’s players played in the European Championships in 2021, which were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak, and Robertson will be hoping his players can learn from that experience.
“Obviously qualifying was incredible but it was different … the world was still in a pretty strange and weird place,” the Scotland captain said.
“It’s a learning curve and it’s similar for a lot of us, a lot of the team, and hopefully we’ve learned a lesson from it.”
There is no doubt that many travellers will enjoy the hospitality of Germany’s famous beer halls.
Now it’s up to the team to give them a historic toast.
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©Agence France-Presse
