Scotland's World Cup journey under Steve Clarke is turning into one strange mix of hope,stress and proper defensive grinding . And honestly,it feels like team is still trying to understand what exactly works for them.
Before tournament,things looked much brighter. Clarke used 4-4-2 formation in friendly matches against Curacao and Bolivia,and Scotland scored eight goals combined . That kind of attacking output naturally raised expectations,because fans saw goals and thought okay,maybe this team has found rhythm .
But then came Haiti match,and suddenly picture became less comfortable. Scotland won narrowly,but they managed fewer shots than Haiti and their expected goals (xG) was just 1.05 compared to Haiti's 1.21 . Win came through deflected goal from John McGinn,which is fine,but performance did not exactly calm nerves.
And tbh,Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams looked too isolated in that game. Both started up front,but impact was missing badly . Sometimes formation looks attacking on paper only,but if strikers are not getting service,then what is point?
Against Morocco,Clarke changed approach and went with more solid midfield,leaving Shankland out. But Adams again could not really get into match,registering only 11 touches before being replaced by Lyndon Dykes . Scotland then finished match against Morocco without any shots on goal,which is not small thing ah .
Few things standing out clearly right now:
- Scotland showed attacking promise with eight goals combined against Curacao and Bolivia.
- Against Haiti,Scotland's xG was 1.05 while Haiti's was 1.21.
- Dykes,Shankland,Ross Stewart,and George Hirst may compete for spot against Brazil.
Morocco match also started in worst possible way,with Ismael Saibari scoring within first two minutes . But after that,defence actually showed lot of grit . Back four led by Jack Hendry regrouped quickly and stopped Morocco from creating too much damage.
Hendry especially looked sharp in key moments. His pace and reading of game mattered when he denied Saibari second goal with superb block . That kind of defensive recovery kept Scotland alive even when attack was giving almost nothing.
Clarke also admitted how bad start was,while praising response. His words were,"Terrible start but the reaction to that was good. We had to dig in for five or 10 minutes just to get our feet in the game." And that pretty much sums up Scotland right now,surviving difficult spells more than controlling matches.
Now Brazil is coming,and that is completely different test . Scotland will need defensive solidity again,but at same time they cannot go into such match with no attacking bite. Whether Clarke trusts Dykes,goes back to Shankland,or looks at Ross Stewart or George Hirst… that decision suddenly feels very heavy.
