One of the more intriguing developments in international football over the past five years has been the revival of the Scotland team as a force. Scotland had been in a prolonged slump since the late 1990s that saw the team miss out on a host of major tournaments.
That all changed with a surprise late qualification for Euro 2020 and things have snowballed since then. They came very close to making it to the last World Cup and now they are looking forward to taking on Germany in their opening match of Euro 2024.
The progress they have made can be seen in the fact that they are no long shot to beat the hosts, according to the Euro odds. Most people recognise that the revival of the Scottish international side is mainly the work of one man: head coach Steve Clarke.
The Clarke Effect
Clarke took over the role of Scotland head coach from Alex McLeish in May of 2019. Scotland had been through a succession of coaches during the previous two decades, as they attempted to recapture the form of the 1990s that saw them regularly qualify for the Euros and the World Cup.
McLeish quit after they made a dismal start to their qualifiers for Euro 2020, with a 0-3 defeat to a Kazakhstan side ranked 117th in the world a particular low. That was the situation that Clarke inherited and he got off to a rocky start, with four straight early defeats, but since then the improvement has been rapid.
They managed to make it to Euro 2020 via a playoff, before going on to finish in second spot in their World Cup 2022 qualifying group, only to lose out in the playoff. Among those looking enviously at what Clarke has achieved are the Irish, whose side have declined just as Scotland have bloomed.
That raises the question of how he has managed to turn the fortunes of the Scottish team around. A close examination suggests that there is more than one aspect to his plan.
A Collective Task
One thing that has been noticeable about Steve Clarke’s Scotland side is that there are no big individual stars. That does not mean that none of the players have stood out under him, but that he has focused on instilling a collective mentality.
He has benefited from a more talented group of players to pick from than any other Scotland manager since the 1990s. England during the so-called ‘golden generation’ era of Lampard, Gerrard, and Rooney proved that talent alone is not enough to build success on though.
Under Clarke, the key players in the Scotland squad – think goalkeeper David Marshall, Scott McTominay, Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson – have been coached to play their parts in a team effort rather than let their individual egos run riot.
The result has been a Scotland team that is united behind the cause and this has helped them to overcome more fancied sides. They beat both Spain and Norway in their qualifying fixtures for Euro 2024 and left the latter side in the dust to finish in second spot in the group.
The key results in that campaign were a memorable 2-0 home win over Spain, thanks to a brace by McTominay, and a late 2-1 win away in Norway. That result showed Scotland’s new resilience and belief under Clarke, but it also highlighted another important reason for his success.
Tactical Flexibility
Clarke has demonstrated a tactical flexibility as Scotland coach and a willingness to make bold moves when things are not working. The match in Oslo during June 2023 was petering out into a routine 0-1 win for the home side until two late substitutions that the manager made.
The decision to bring on a defensive midfielder, in the shape of Kenny McLean, looked perverse at a time when his side was trailing with minutes left. Equally a refusal to replace struggling striker Lyndon Dykes when he had players like Lawrence Shankland and Kevin Nisbet on the bench appeared odd.
The plan may have been for McLean to shore up the defence and leave more room for Dykes to focus on attack and it worked, as Dykes grabbed an equaliser. McLean scoring the winner seconds later really emphasised Clarke’s tactical know-how though.
The only slight cloud on the horizon is the recent form of Scotland. Successive defeats to the Netherlands and Northern Ireland have taken a bit of the gloss off qualification, but they are only friendly games.
Clarke is quietly confident and has plenty of talent at his disposal when the real action gets underway.
Scotland have a hard group in Euro 2024 but there is a chance that they could make it through with Clarke overseeing things.
