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Date: 2023-11-30 03:33:50 | Author: Online Games | Views: 257 | Tag: soccer
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Serial qualifiers? It’s still too early to say, but for any Scotland supporter who cannot remember the 1998 World Cup in France or the years before, these are dizzying times indeed soccer
The Tartan Army are heading to Euro 2024, their second successive appearance at the European Championships, and just their second men’s major international tournament in 25 years soccer
Hampden has rediscovered its roar, and it is set to carry Scotland on their march to Germany next summer; tens of thousands will make the journey –many had already booked their tickets before this weekend – and it is all thanks, by and large, to Steve Clarke soccer
If Clarke has brought the good times back, it is worth remembering the dark days he inherited on his appointment in 2019 soccer
Scotland were barely able to fill half of Hampden as their men’s major tournament drought extended past two decades soccer
A 3-0 defeat to Kazakhstan proved to be the end for Clarke’s predecessor, Alex McLeish, and rock bottom for Scotland; there was no hope, and no hint of the immense progress Clarke has since been able to achieve with what are still fairly limited resources soccer
Automatic qualification from a tricky Group A was secured with two games to go, owed to a phenomenal start that featured the stunning wins against Spain at Hampden and Norway in Oslo soccer
After the ultimately disappointing performances at the Covid-delayed Euro 2020 finals and defeat to an inspired Ukraine in the play-offs for the 2022 World Cup, Scotland took to their task with focus and clarity, forged from the cohesion and spirit Clarke has brought to the national team over the course of his tenure soccer
If Scotland are famously one of those sides that always do things the hard way, progress to Euro 2024 has been serene by comparison soccer
Under the guidance of the calm and measured Clarke, Scotland has become an environment where players want to play, mirroring a club side with the relationships within the group and the organisation of their approach soccer
There can be no doubting anyone’s commitment to the Scotland cause – and that has not always been the case in recent years – while Clarke’s management style is to never allow anyone to get too high or feel too low soccer
For all that Scotland’s 2-0 victory over Spain in March was a memorable night at Hampden, the key to qualification was that Clarke ensured his squad kept their feet on the ground when there was still a job to be done soccer
RecommendedScotland qualify for Euro 2024 after Spain result confirms placeAndy Robertson injury: Scotland provide update on dislocated shoulder against SpainSteve Clarke congratulates Scotland players for becoming ‘serial qualifiers’ after reaching Euro 2024Clarke would be the first to point out that further improvements are still required ahead of Euro 2024 – England’s performance and Jude Bellingham’s class at Hampden last month made that perfectly clear – but Scotland will head to Germany believing they can be much more competitive than when they returned from the international wilderness soccer
For one, that long wait, with the emotions it brought with it, is over soccer
Scotland’s squad is settled and largely unchanged from the summer of 2021, and Clarke’s team have the experience of a major tournament to build on soccer
And, as anyone who celebrated a significant birthday, a graduation, or a wedding will remember, the summer of 2021 was a strange time, with the UK only just coming out of spells of Covid lockdown soccer
Scotland’s return required the full experience of the Tartan Army, especially with two games at Hampden and a third against England at Wembley, but a long-awaited party was dampened soccer
Germany will bring full numbers and see Scotland at full voice; it will undoubtedly help a team who will aim to punch above their weight soccer
Scotland dared to dream after beating Spain at Hampden (Getty)While there is a notion that successive appearances at the European Championships are a sign of some sort of Scottish “golden generation”, the reality is somewhat different soccer
This Scotland squad certainly has talent and quality, but it is also one with gaps and holes, and is far weaker than the results under Clarke suggest soccer
But the 60-year-old has found solutions and made improvements with the options at his disposal, while creating a culture within the group that has lifted standards and expectations soccer
In simple terms, it is astute management at every level soccer
Scotland, for a while, seemed cursed by having two world-class players in Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, but both being left-backs soccer
There is now a genuine partnership soccer between Robertson and Tierney within Clarke’s system, which is built upon a back three that has kept four clean sheets in six games so far in qualifying soccer
Angus Gunn has made an assured start at goalkeeper after taking over from the veterans David Marshall and Craig Gordon, while Aaron Hickey represents a significant upgrade on Stephen O’Donnell at right wing-back – which was another problem position at Euro 2020 soccer
The lack of a world-class striker – the Tartan Army would accept at least one Premier League-calibre option, with both Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams plying their trade in the Championship this season – has been mitigated as well soccer
For all that Dykes and Adams have always put in huge shifts when leading the line, often a thankless task in any case, Scotland’s goals have been scored by another player with whom Clarke has performed miracles – Scott McTominay soccer
McTominay was key to qualification with six goals from midfield (Getty)Underappreciated and perennially dismissed at Manchester United, and used as a centre-back at Euro 2020 as his country struggled to fit him into the side, McTominay has been the revelation of Scotland’s campaign soccer
Deployed now as an attacking midfielder and given licence to break forward into the box, McTominay’s return of six goals in as many games has been beyond anyone’s expectations – as many as Erling Haaland soccer
That McTominay’s success has come within the organisation and structure Clarke has installed is no coincidence; international tournaments often show how countries can rise as a collective, and Morocco, Switzerland and Wales are also recent examples that will give Scotland hope that they can extend their trip to Germany by reaching the knockout stages soccer
“I said after Euro 2020 that we wanted to be serial qualifiers again, and reaching successive Euro finals shows the progress we’ve made,” said Clarke, typically level even as Scotland’s progress was confirmed soccer
“We will raise a glass tonight to celebrate, but then it’s back to work tomorrow in preparation for our friendly against France soccer
” There will have been many back home, however, who will have instead been raising a glass to him, much longer into the night soccer
More aboutScotland soccer footballSteve ClarkeEuro 2024Scott McTominayAndy RobertsonJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments 1/3How Scotland reached Euro 2024 – and why Germany will be different How Scotland reached Euro 2024 – and why Germany will be differentScotland dared to dream after beating Spain at Hampden Getty ImagesHow Scotland reached Euro 2024 – and why Germany will be differentMcTominay was key to qualification with six goals from midfield Getty ImagesHow Scotland reached Euro 2024 – and why Germany will be differentSteve Clarke has guided Scotland to back-to-back Euros Getty ✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today soccer
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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp said there was still room for improvement after his side cruised to a 3-0 home Premier League win against Nottingham Forest soccer
Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez scored within the space of four minutes before the interval to put Liverpool in control and Mohamed Salah struck his eighth league goal of the season in the second half soccer
Klopp’s side made it five wins from as many league games at Anfield this season – their eighth in a row in all competitions – and sit three points behind leaders Tottenham soccer
Klopp said: “If you’re chasing a game it’s obviously a completely different task, but if you are in complete control you should stay in control soccer
“The last five minutes I think before half-time, all of a sudden we were a bit too deep and they just could chip the balls there and these are moments we have to improve, clearly soccer
“In creative situations you can always improve because the boys have a lot of potential and we have to use it fully soccer
”Once Liverpool broke the deadlock there was no way back for injury-hit Forest, but Klopp still remains wary of his side’s ability to protect a lead in front of their own fans soccer
“You might remember three or four years ago, all of a sudden we became slightly more dominant and were leading at home and always came under pressure,” he said soccer
“Like one-nil up meant nothing soccer
Everybody thought ‘Oh my god, 1-0, 10 minutes to go!’ Maybe they saw the equaliser coming and that’s the situation you have to grow into and the boys showed wonderful signs in all aspects soccer
“That’s now something we have to learn again because the key positions are obviously occupied by different players than that time, up front, midfield, last line soccer
“So that’s the space for improvement soccer
Creating without losing the compactness is pretty much the idea soccer
”Forest’s winless league run was extended to six league games and head coach Steve Cooper admitted it had been a torrid 90 minutes soccer
He said: “For sure it is a tough afternoon soccer
Coming into the game, you know you have to play really well and commit to a plan in order to get some success in the game soccer
“We were forced into some player selection, formation and plans through the unfortunate situation with attacking players soccer
We had to go with a couple of players out of position soccer
”Cooper was without a recognised central striker after Chris Wood (hamstring) was a late withdrawal, with Taiwo Awoniyi returning to the bench after a groin injury soccer
“We only had one player who could play as a number nine in Anthony (Elanga),” Cooper added soccer
“It’s a position which is a little bit foreign to him anyway and two days ago we didn’t think he would be available because of illness soccer
”More aboutJurgen KloppMohamed SalahPremier LeagueDarwin NunezNottingham ForestLiverpool FCJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Klopp insists Liverpool can get even soccer better after another home winKlopp insists Liverpool can get even soccer better after another home winJurgen Klopp’s side beat Nottingham Forest (Peter Byrne/PA)PA Wire✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today soccer
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicssoccer BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy soccer
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