Star defense, quality midfield and unopposed forward
On June 1, in Glasgow, the Ukrainian national team will play the semifinal match of the playoff round of the 2022 World Cup qualification against the national team. Yesterday, the blue-yellows played the last control game before the official match, playing a two-sided game. But if the blue-yellows have been preparing for the fight for a little over a month, then Scotland has started full-fledged work only since Monday. True, unlike our team, the tartan army held control matches this year.
There were two of them: home against Poland, away against Austria. Both ended in a draw: 1:1 and 2:2, respectively. Hendry, McGin and Tierney each scored goals in those matches. The latter, by the way, also recorded an assist in his asset. As you know, Tierney misses the match with Ukraine due to injury. Hendry and McGin – in the application of the tartan army.
It should be noted that the mentor of the Scottish national team Stephen Clark took full advantage of both sparrings – having checked almost all the players from the main clip in practice, experimenting with positions and composition. We figure out who can play against the blue-yellows, evaluating Scotland along the lines.
Goalkeepers
Perhaps the weakest line of the Scottish team. In the first half of last year, Clarke bet on the then 36-year-old goalkeeper of Queens Park Rangers David Marshall – played in the opening matches of qualification for the 2022 World Cup and in three matches in the final stage of Euro 20202. In the second and this year – 39-year-old Hearts keeper Craig Gordon.
It must be admitted that it was very successful: in nine matches, the goalkeeper, who is in the TOP-50 players in the history of Scottish football, conceded seven goals, having played “dry” five meetings. At the same time, with Gordon at the gate, the tartan army won six meetings, drew two fights, lost one – to Denmark. Another question, without downplaying the contribution of the goalkeeper, is the merit of Gordon or the defensive line, which is perhaps the strongest in Clark’s team.
star protection
Indeed, now at the disposal of the coaching staff of the Scottish national team, an excellent company in the defensive line has crept up. Of course, the Tartan army cannot afford the luxury of having two equal players for each position, plus Tierney’s injury also made adjustments, but in general the Scots’ defense looks very solid.
The top seven defensemen have a combined net worth of $107 million and an average age of 25.5. At the same time, Tierney’s “departure” is to some extent compensated by the return of Nathan Patterson from Everton, who, along with the most expensive player in the team, the captain of the national team, who is also in the TOP-50 players of the Scottish national team in history, Andrew Robertson from Liverpool ( 65 million euros) will close the flanks with Clark’s favorite formation – 3-4-2-1. On the back of the latter is one of the main hopes of Scottish football, 19-year-old Aaron Hickey from Bologna (15 million).
Well, in the position in the center, I think, Liam Cooper from Leeds (7 million, 30 years old), and Grant Hanley from Norwich (4 million, 30 years old) and Jack Hendry from Bruges (5 million, 27 years old) will take
Powerful midfield
Enough star players from Clark and in midfield. First of all, we are talking about Craig’s “colleague” on the list of the 50 best Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn (30 million, 27 years old). The midfielder has already 44 matches for the Scottish national team, in which he scored 12 goals. It is noteworthy that in the only match lost by the Scots in the last eight months, McGinn did not play.
It is worth noting the 20-year-old Billy Gilmour, owned by Chelsea, but who played last season in Norwich. The defensive midfielder, who made his debut in the national team a year ago, has already played 12 matches for the tartan army, including one at Euro 2020.
You can not pass by the powerful – height 191 centimeters – Manchester United defender Scott McTominay. The 25-year-old midfielder, whose transfer fee is estimated at 35 million euros, played little in the selection for the 2022 World Cup – only five matches out of 10, but at Euro 2020 he was the main player of the Scots, and even now Clark is betting on him.
In attack, bet on Adams
25-year-old Southampton striker Che Adams is Clarke’s almost no alternative in attack. The forward, valued at €20m, has been Scotland’s main striker in both Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 qualifiers. Yes, and Adams started the last two test matches of the tartan army at the base, giving way to Lyndon Dykes from QPR and Jacob Bran from Stoke.
General conclusions
By the names, the Scottish team looks, perhaps, even more preferable than Ukraine. Which, in fact, is indirectly confirmed by the cost of the trains (according to the same Transfermarkt): almost 253 million euros for the roster of the tartan army against 214.5 million euros for the composition of Ukraine. At the same time, the Scots have an advantage in playing practice: the English championship, where the lion’s share of the national team players play, ended on May 22, Scotland – on the 15th. We have only legionnaires, and even then not all, received such a load. But with all the trump cards of the tartan army, it, like any team, has vulnerabilities. The main thing is to use them.
Source: Sportarena
