Goalkeeper Craig Gordon and defender John Souttar have been left out of Scotland’s final squad for Euro 2024.
Head coach Steve Clarke had named four goalkeepers and seven centre-backs in his provisional 28-man squad – meaning the two players who he would drop would likely come from those areas.
While Gordon was the highest-capped player in the initial group – he had made just seven club appearances this season after recovering from a double-leg break suffered in December 2022. It means his Hearts team-mate Zander Clark and Motherwell’s Liam Kelly – who featured in every league game – will join No 1 Angus Gunn on the plane to Germany.
In defence – with Grant Hanley back after his injury issues and Liam Cooper fit despite his precautionary substitution against Gibraltar, Souttar misses out following his own fitness woes – with the defender missing Rangers’ last three games of the season.
The duo will be joined by Jack Hendry, Ryan Porteous, Scott McKenna, Andy Robertson, Greg Taylor and Kieran Tierney in the squad, plus Ross McCrorie and Anthony Ralston, who are Clarke’s right-back options.
The inclusion of Ralston and McCrorie come after first-choice Aaron Hickey and back-up Nathan Patterson were ruled out in the build-up, as was Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson.
Stuart Armstrong had not played for Southampton since April and the midfielder didn’t train with the Scotland squad this week – but Clarke has included him in his final 26 with the hope he rejoins the group on the opening week of the Euros.
Now free-agent Ryan Jack is also in – with his 17-minute substitute appearance against Gibraltar his first action since March, while Ryan Christie, Billy Gilmour, Kenny McLean, John McGinn, Callum McGregor and Scott McTominay make the cut as expected.
Forwards Lyndon Dykes – who had played in every qualifier – and uncapped Liverpool youngster Ben Doak withdrew from the wider squad through injury.
However, the duo have been replaced in the final group by Tommy Conway of Bristol City who scored 10 league goals during the campaign, and New York Red Bulls forward Lewis Morgan, whose last cap came in 2018.
Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland are Clarke’s other forward options, while Celtic’s James Forrest will provide width after making the final squad.
Robertson: Scotland must create history
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Captain Andy Robertson reflects on the last Euros, the Tartan Army’s support and Scotland’s target of reaching the knockout stages of a major finals for the first time in Germany
Captain Andy Robertson has told Sky Sports News the squad must target creating history in Germany by becoming the first Scotland team to reach the knockout stages of a major finals.
He said: “Our aim is to be the team that creates history – we have to aim to get out the group.
“We look at the group and it’s a tough group, it’s a competitive group. But we believe that we can give any team a game and if we do that and we manage to get out the group then we’re the first Scotland team to ever do that.
“We’ve been trying to create our own history, we’ve been trying to create our own story within a nation that have had a lot of good teams in the past, a lot of legends of the game.
“We are trying to create a small part of history and we’ve managed to do that with the two tournaments [reaching Euro 2020 and Euro 2024] but to be able to qualify from the group would be a massive step and it would excel us even further and give us even more belief than we’ve already got.”
McAllister: Midfield key to progression
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Former Scotland international Gary McAllister on the team’s hopes of reaching the knockouts in Germany
Former Scotland international Gary McAllister believes Clarke’s midfield hold the key to the team’s chances if they are to reach the knockouts.
He told Sky Sports News: “First and foremost, Steve Clarke has done brilliantly to get us to two Euros on the bounce.
“I know we’re playing in the opening game against the hosts. They’ve got some fantastic players but their results in the last couple of years have not been great.
“Can we go there and provide an upset? Possibly but it’s the other two games where I think we can get results, so I’m really confident.
“Over the years we’ve always gone into tournaments thinking ‘can we get out of the group stages?’ and I think this time round it represents a great chance. Purely because my eyes are always drawn to the middle of the park and that’s where we’re really strong.
“We’ve got McGinn, McTominay, McGregor, Billy Gilmour and McLean – guys that are playing at a proper level and they’re experienced as well now.
“That group of five or six players in the middle of the park can get us through.”
Scotland’s Euro 2024 schedule
Scotland have history kicking off tournaments, having been drawn to face Brazil in the opener at World Cup 1998, a game they narrowly lost 2-1 to a second-half Tom Boyd own goal.
This time around the venue is the Munich Football Arena (Allianz Arena) where Steve Clarke’s kick-off the opening match of Euro 2024 against hosts Germany on June 14.
The Scots also face games against perennial qualifiers Switzerland in Cologne on June 19, with Hungary – who reached the knockouts in 2016 – awaiting in Stuttgart on June 23.
If Scotland finish as one of four best third-placed teams…
One of:
Sunday June 30 – Group B winners vs third-placed side from Group A/D/E/F (RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne)
Monday July 1 – Group F winners vs third-placed side from Group A/B/C (Waldstadion, Frankfurt)
Tuesday July 2: Group E winners vs third-placed side Group A/B/C/D (Allianz Arena, Munich)Quarter-finals
If Scotland finish first in Group A and win round of 16 game…
Friday July 5 (MHPArena, Stuttgart)
If Scotland finish second in Group A and win round of 16 game…
Saturday July 6 (Merkur Spiel-Arena, Dusseldorf)
If Scotland finish as one of four best third-placed teams and win round of 16 game…
One of:
Friday July 5 (MHPArena, Stuttgart)
Friday July 5 (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg)
Saturday July 6 – (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
Semi-finals
If Scotland finish first in Group A, win round of 16 game and win quarter-final…
Tuesday July 9 – kick-off 8pm (Allianz Arena, Munich)
If Scotland finish second in Group A, win round of 16 game and win quarter-final…
Wednesday July 10 – kick-off 8pm (Westfalenstadion, Dortmund)
If Scotland finish as one of four best third-placed teams, win round of 16 game and win quarter-final…
One of:
Tuesday July 9 – kick-off 8pm (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Wednesday July 10 – kick-off 8pm (Westfalenstadion, Dortmund)
And finally, the final…
Sunday July 14 – kick-off 8pm (Olympiastadion, Berlin)
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