With the Euro 2021 just around the corner, Scotland look to enter the contest as the underdogs in a really difficult group with England, Czech Republic and Croatia. They kick off their campaign against Czech Republic on 14th June.
Scotland look like they have a good young squad to fight against the best teams in the competition and under a good system this team might actually shock many big teams in the competition.
SQUAD
Goalkeepers- David Marshall, Craig Gordon, Jon McLaughlin
Defenders- Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Declan Gallagher, Scott McKenna, Liam Cooper, Jack Hendry, Stephen O’Donnell, Grant Hanley, Nathan Patterson, Greg Taylor
Midfielders- John McGinn, Callum McGregor, Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, Billy Gilmour, John Fleck, David Turnbull, Ryan Fraser, James Forrest, Ryan Christie.
Forwards- Lyndon Dykes, Kevin Nisbet, Che Adams
They range from Premier League stars like Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Scott McTominay and John McGinn, to the goalkeeping trio of David Marshall, Craig Gordon and Jon McLaughlin, and take in hardworking lads such as Stephen O’Donnell and Kenny McLean. Despite only making his debut two months back, Southampton Forward Che Adams now also seems to be among this group.
Regardless, there are a plethora of natural central defenders fighting it out for places in the team. Norwich’s Grant Hanley, Declan Gallagher of Motherwell, Leeds skipper Liam Cooper, Scott McKenna of Nottingham Forest, and Celtic’s Jack Hendry are all those are in contention for a starting spot.
MANAGER
Steve Clarke is the Manager of The Scottish National team, he was appointed in May 2019 and he helped Scotland qualify for the Euro 2021, which is Scotland’s first major competition in 23 years.
The Saltcoats born Manager has a very pragmatic approach to the game. He does not mind his team sitting back and letting the other team control the game against a quality side while he asks his team to control the game against a weaker side.
Clarke is not known for deploying a back 3 in his defense but because of 2 quality left backs he has had to adapt to a back 3 with Tierney playing as a left sided center back and Robertson as a wing back. He usually switches between a 3-5-2 and a 3-4-3.
With this on going system and a continuous pragmatic approach, the Scottish might just get past the group they would consider to be the group of death.
STAR PLAYER- ANDY ROBERTSON
There would hardly be any doubt about who would be the player that is going to be the key player. The skipper of the team Andy Robertson would be leading from the front.
The Glasgow born full back who is currently impressing for Liverpool was named The Scottish Captain in 2018 and has been their top performer ever since. Despite of not having the most impressive season, Robertson has proved it time and again and has showed everyone the quality he possesses on the big stages and don’t expect the Euro 21 to be any different, Robertson is the Game-Changer for Scotland.
RISING BALLER- BILLY GILMOUR
The 19 year old Scot is dubbed as the ‘Scottish Iniesta’ and he certainly lives up to the building. Being bought by Chelsea at a young age from his youth team Rangers, he has made cameo appearances for the London club and has shown flashes of quality. His 2 Man of the Match performances against Everton and Liverpool really highlighted the quality he possesses.
Despite of going out of favor under German Thomas Tuchel, Gilmour would still be one of the players who would provide the added spark to this Scottish Team. He can be the surprise package and can be called upon during emergencies because he does posses the flair and quality to change the game in a matter of minutes playing from a deep lying position.
CHANCES AND RECORD
There is a 3000/10 chance that Scotland could win the Euro 2021 which means they are going as under dogs and that is not the best position to be in but this Scottish team does know how to get the best out of that.
The Scots might not end up winning the Euros but with a young and a bright squad to come for the future they really are nurturing young players to eventually step up and actually make an impact in this competition in the coming years. This competition might also be a good practice for the upcoming FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
This is Scotland’s first major competition in 23 years and on previous occasions too, they have not fared entirely well. Scotland have played in two UEFA European Football Championships finals, the ones held in 1992 and 1996, with an upcoming third appearance at Euro 2020. They played six matches: winning two, drawing one and losing three. They ended up scoring four goals and conceding five.