Scotland Look to Bounce Back
The disappointment felt as Scotland crashed out of the World Cup Playoffs last week was a feeling many had hoped had been put behind us as a new era of Scottish football emerged. However, the lacklustre performance and almost typical Scottish fashion in which the tie was lost was all too familiar. Nevertheless, despite the painful defeat we must dust ourselves off and look to push on in the games to come.
The Scotland players at full-time after their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Ukraine in the World Cup Play-Offs Semi-Final (Image: Getty)
The hopes of the nation were dashed last week when Ukraine cruised to the Playoff final in a 3-1 win at Hampden Park. The stage was set for Scotland to try and keep their hopes alive of returning to their first World Cup since 1998 and our second successive international tournament, but it wasn’t meant to be. Steve Clarke’s side now have three fixtures left to bounce back, which come in the form of a home and away tie to Armenia and a trip to Dublin to face the Republic of Ireland.
The Nations League, although viewed as a waste of time by the larger nations, is a very important safety net for a country like ours. It could help provide another pathway to qualify for future tournaments and it is the very reason we were able to be present at Euro 2020. So, it is not a competition to turn our nose up at and it can provide Clarke’s men with the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways after a miserable week.
Steve Clarke cuts a rejected figure on the pitch as the full-time whistle blew (Image: Getty)
The games will not be a walk in the park, but they will provide the opportunity to get points on the board and set Scotland in good stead for qualification to Euro 2024. It is important to refocus and not let the disappointment of last week fester in the minds of the players. Armenia coming off the back of a 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland will be Scotland’s first opponents at Hampden Park on Wednesday and Clarke’s players will be looking to prove a point.
Later in the year, Scotland will have to face Ukraine home and away and the chance at redemption will surely be taken by the players as they look to qualify for the next tournament after the failure of Wednesday night.