Scotland: What decisions face Steve Clarke in final Euro 2024 squad selection?

There is just one warm-up match to go before the Scotland squad fly out to Germany for Euro 2024 – but who will be on that plane?

After naming a provisional squad of 28, Steve Clarke must trim that to 26 players by Friday’s midnight deadline – hours after that final friendly against Finland at Hampden Park.

There are fitness concerns for the head coach to weigh up, plus Lyndon Dykes is out of the tournament after picking up an injury in training, so could a new striker be added to the group?

Here’s a look at who is almost guaranteed a spot on the plane to Germany and those who might face an anxious wait to see if they make the cut…

Decisions in defence

Starting with the goalkeepers, Clarke named four in his initial squad with No 1 Angus Gunn and Zander Clark expected to travel but what will happen to Craig Gordon and Liam Kelly?

Clarke has suggested all four could travel but if one is to miss out, the decision will come down to experience or game-time. Kelly featured in every league match for Motherwell but has just one cap for the national team. Gordon, however, has 74 caps to his name and at 41 years old, would bring experience, but has only played seven games since suffering a double-leg break in December 2022.

In front of the ‘keepers, the likes of Jack Hendry, Ryan Porteous, Scott McKenna, Andy Robertson, Greg Taylor and Kieran Tierney will be in the squad, as will Grant Hanley who is back after fitness concerns plus Ross McCrorie and Anthony Ralston who are Clarke’s right-back options after injuries.

However, Liam Cooper came off in the win over Gibraltar as a precaution and will want to prove he is ok to travel, while John Souttar has also had his own fitness and injury issues of late and missed that friendly.

The midfield make-up

Again Clarke will know the vast majority of his midfielders who will travel – including the likes of Ryan Christie, Billy Gilmour, Kenny McLean, John McGinn, Callum McGregor and Scott McTominay.

But what will happen to Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Jack? Armstrong – who has not played due to injury since mid-April – is back training but is he fit enough? And the same question could be asked of Jack who came on for 17 minutes on Monday having last played in March.

Conway chance?

With Dykes out, Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland give Clarke two options and James Forrest will provide width too. However, question marks surround Ben Doak after the uncapped Liverpool forward didn’t feature in the squad to face Gibraltar and has not played competitively since December.

While Clarke insists there is no like-for-like replacement for Dykes – could uncapped Tommy Conway be called up? Clarke said any additions to his provisional group would come from the under-21 side and the Bristol City striker has done his hopes no harm by scoring against Turkey for the U21s, while Scotland struggled past Gibraltar.

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 England 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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