SCOTLAND will begin their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in September this year.
Steve Clarke has admitted he is “75 per cent sure” the tournament would be his last but who could he call upon to do the job for him – should we make it there?
Steve Clarke has strongly hinted the tournament will be his last[/caption]
Will Lennon Miller become the centrepiece of the Scotland team by 2026?[/caption]
The competition will be held across the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 next year.
Scotland have the small matter of a crucial Nations League play-off against Greece this week to take care of first, as the national team look to hold onto their spot in League A of that competition.
After this round of fixtures it will also clear up who will be the fourth team in our World Cup qualifying group, as the defeated side in the Nations League quarter-final between Portugal and Denmark will join Scotland, Belarus and Greece in Group C.
With the tournament possibly acting as Clarke’s swansong, how will he leave the squad looking before his replacement comes in – with stars of the future like Lennon Miller ready to take over.
Some of the current group will become heroes over the course of the upcoming qualifying campaign and there may yet be players who surprise us along the way and force their way into his plans.
And even though it seems a long way away, in 15 months time the tournament will have already kicked off.
We have predicted TWO potential line-ups for the North American edition of football’s biggest competition, incorporating two separate formations Clarke could deploy.
Both XIs have their pros and cons to allow for the best players to get on the pitch.
It makes for some though decisions regarding who to leave out and one Tartan Army favourite would be moved from his natural position to accommodate others around him.
Strength in (midfield) numbers in 3-6-1 (or 5-4-1…)
Clarke has ditched playing three (or five) at the back since the disaster that was Euro 2024.
But that was primarily due to the absence of Kieran Tierney who, when fit, becomes a key player for Scotland and a major reason for the deployment of three central defenders and two wing backs.
He and Andy Robertson have dovetailed superbly over the years and providing both are available come the summer of 2026 (with Tierney of course due to move back to Celtic this summer) it’s likely Clarke will give them one last run on the left hand side.
in the other wing-back slot is Max Johnston, who has stepped up from the Under-21s as injury doubts linger over Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson.
Rangers star John Souttar excels in a back three but the question mark is on who would line up in the other centre-back spot.
Scott McKenna being left-sided doesn’t help his case, neither does Grant Hanley‘s age. That leaves (of the current crop) Jack Hendry or Ryan Porteous.
Hendry seems the most likely with Porteous’ club form having dipped and Hendry possessing more experience at international level.
But this position is up for grabs should a Liam Lindsay or Dominic Hyam be given an opportunity or maybe an up-and-coming talent such as Dylan Smith (Ross County), Kerr Smith (Aston Villa) or Lewis Neilson (Hearts) will have kicked on and forced their way into the squad by then.
The electric Ben Doak is the one who misses out in this formation, one that promotes a strong midfield base and puts extra onus on Robertson and Johnston (or Patterson) to help out in the attack.
With Motherwell starlet Miller having said he wants to become the best player in the Scotland set-up in the near future, this formation puts him at the centre of things in a packed midfield with Billy Gilmour at the base, Miller alongside John McGinn and Scott McTominay just off of new striker George Hirst up top, keeping veterans Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams in reserve, plus Tommy Conway.
George Hirst has been drafted in to be Scotland’s new strike star[/caption]
We’re also expecting Angus Gunn to return in between the sticks once he’s back from injury.
But don’t count out ageless wonder Craig Gordon, in spite of the fact he’s well into his forties now.
McGinn on the wing in attacking 4-3-3
Since the Euros, Clarke’s Scotland have lost three games, drawn once and won twice, the two wins coming in the most recent round of fixtures against Croatia and Poland.
It took the team a while to find some form playing in a 4-3-3 again after Germany but come the end of the Nations League campaign there were signs for optimism.
Clarke used a centre-back pairing of Souttar and Hanley in four of the six games, with McKenna partnering the former Norwich City captain in the two losses against Poland and Portugal.
But Hanley is now playing in League One with Birmingham City and he gave away the silly stoppage time penalty that handed Poland victory on a platter in that 3-2 Hampden defeat back in September.
He’ll also be 34 when the tournament rolls around and with that in mind we reckon either McKenna or Tierney will drop in beside Souttar. McKenna is the natural centre-back but Tierney is more dynamic and boasts more pace than the Las Palmas stopper.
Robertson would occupy his regular full-back position in this back four, with Johnston taking up the role on the opposite side having gone from strength to strength since joining Sturm Graz from Motherwell last season.
Max Johnston has played in the Champions League for Sturm Graz[/caption]
It’s further up the field where things become even more interesting in terms of personnel.
‘Super John McGinn’ is a Tartan Army talisman but he takes up a left midfield role in this formation in order for Clarke to fit in the likes of Doak, McTominay and Miller.
McGinn has been used wide on the left by Clarke before and quite often this season by Unai Emery at Aston Villa, despite his natural position being in central midfield.
It was his roaming central role that catapulted him to hero status with the Tartan Army but with McTominay now excelling in a similar role for club and country, the industrious McGinn moves out to the wing but with instructions to come inside and free up space for Robertson to gallivant down that flank on the overlap.
Ryan Christie has been used as a left winger by Clarke too but his form for Bournemouth has hit new heights now that he’s established himself as a centre-mid under Andoni Iraola.
He could step into a similar role to what Callum McGregor did for Scotland in terms of linking the play but with the middle of the park the area where the Scots are strongest, we’ve gone with Gilmour as the deep-lying playmaker with Miller and McTominay ahead of him.
That leaves the likes of Ferguson on the bench again and it could be a toss-up between him and Gilmour or perhaps even Miller for a spot in the team, depending on whether Clarke wants a more robust approach to a particular game.
Once again we’ve gone for Hirst leading the line but this time he would be supported by Liverpool wonderkid Doak, providing the injections of energy and skill few others would be able to.
How many of these players will be on the plane to North America if we qualify?[/caption]
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