After an impressive qualifying campaign, Scotland will be quietly optimistic heading to Euro 2024 this summer.
The Tartan Army have been drawn in Group A alongside Germany, Hungary and Switzerland – and they have the added pressure of opening the tournament against the hosts.
The Germany game is a bit of a free hit for Scotland but they’ll be well aware they need to get a result in their other two group outings.
Steve Clark has vast Premier League experience in his squad and they’ll be relying heavily on the likes of John McGinn, Scott McTominay and Andy Robertson. However, do they have enough quality to go far in the tournament?
MANAGER: Steve Clark
CAPTAIN: There was a time when Scotland’s two best players were left-backs Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney… they’ve kicked on since then but the Liverpool man will have the armband in Germany this summer. If Robertson isn’t fit, it will likely be passed on to Aston Villa’s John McGinn.
STAR PLAYER: It’s a toss up between the Mc’s for who’s Scotland’s most important player – McGinn or Scott McTominay. While the Villa man makes them tick as well as getting stuck in while using his biggest asset, his backside, we’ll go with the Manchester United man instead.
The midfielder turned into a goalscoring machine in Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualifiers after netting seven times. Only Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane scored more. The hardest thing to do at these big international tournaments is get goals and if McTominay can chip in with a few, that could be the difference between Scotland reaching the Last 16 or not.
HOW THEY GOT THERE: Scotland were brilliant in qualifying and finished second in their group behind Spain including pulling off a remarkable 2-0 win against Luis de la Fuente’s side where McTominay netted a brace. The Tartan Army also beat Norway, Georgia and Cyprus twice to reach back-to-back Euros for the first time since the 90s.
HOW WILL THEY DO: Scotland are in Group A alongside hosts Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. As mentioned above, the opener is a bit of a freebie, but they’ll need to put in a couple of decent performances after that if they are to reach the knockouts. That probably seems their limit unless their rivals underperform.
BEST BET: Germany should top Group A but it’s tough to call who will finish second behind them. Instead, there’s value in backing McTominay to be the Scotland Team Top Goalscorer. He was on fire in qualifying and he can continue that on the biggest stage this summer.
SCOTLAND EURO 2024 FIXTURES & SCHEDULE
Group A
Friday June 14: Germany v Scotland – 8pm (Munich – Munich Football Arena)
Wednesday June 19: Scotland v Switzerland – 8pm (Cologne – Cologne Stadium)
Sunday June 23: Scotland v Hungary – 8pm (Stuttgart – Stuttgart Arena)
SCOTLAND EURO 2024 SQUAD
Clarke will confirm his final Scotland squad ahead of the June 6 deadline. Below is his preliminary squad.
- GOALKEEPERS: Zander Clark, Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn, Liam Kelly.
- DEFENDERS: Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Jack Hendry, Ryan Porteous, Liam Cooper, Scott McKenna, Grant Hanley, Greg Taylor, John Souttar, Anthony Ralston, Ross McCrorie.
- MIDFIELDERS: Callum McGregor, Ryan Christie, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Jack.
- FORWARDS: Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, James Forrest, Lawrence Shankland, Tommy Conway.
Read More on Euro 2024
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- Euro 2024 fixtures, groups and schedule for this summer’s big tournament
- Euro 2024 Golden Boot odds: Who is the favourite to be the top scorer?
- Predicted England Euro 2024 squad and Paddy Power odds for 23-man group
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