Clarke won't 'experiment' in Scotland friendlies

4 weeks ago

Media caption,

Scotland skipper takes connected quickfire questions

Jane Lewis

BBC Sport Scotland

International friendly: Scotland v Iceland

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Friday, 6 June Kick-off: 19:45 BST

Coverage: Watch unrecorded connected BBC One Scotland and BBC Sport website & app, online matter updates, perceive connected BBC Radio Scotland

Head coach Steve Clarke says nan caller players he has called up are embracing being portion of nan Scotland squad, but he won't beryllium "experimenting" pinch his broadside excessively overmuch successful nan friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Clarke called up 7 uncapped players for nan matches connected Friday astatine Hampden and successful Vaduz connected Monday - some unrecorded connected BBC Scotland.

Hibernian striker Kieron Bowie, Sassuolo left-back Josh Doig, midfield trio Connor Barron of Rangers, West Ham's Andy Irving and Lennon Miller of Motherwell, and goalkeeping duo Robby McCrorie and Cieran Slicker are each vying for a first cap.

However, nan caput coach says his broadside will person a familar look against Iceland.

"I deliberation you cognize maine rather good by now - we don't really research excessively much," Clarke said.

"With immoderate team, location has to beryllium a rhythm and a turnover of players eventually. You're bringing these young players successful to consciousness nan level of nan group, to understand wherever they request to get to, to beryllium selected regularly. That's important.

"The young ones are successful a bully place. There's 1 aliases 2 of them coming into this campy amended than nan past clip they came."

Clarke has besides been impressed by nan committedness shown by his much established players astatine turning up for these friendlies astatine nan extremity of gruelling campaigns.

Among those is skipper Andy Robertson, who has besides been impressed by nan caller faces among nan squad, some successful position of their abilities connected nan training transportation but besides successful their attitudes and willingness to learn.

"Me, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, we're not going to beryllium astir forever. Then it's up to nan young lads," nan Liverpool full-back said.

"It will soon beryllium their squad, they will past person to measurement up and group standards. So them knowing really difficult world shot is, is crucial.

"I cognize from my experience, nan younger that I knowledgeable that, nan amended it was and past I conscionable benignant of grew into it. And possibly successful 10 years time, I tin beryllium watching them astatine a World Cup."

What should we expect from Iceland?

Liam McLeod

BBC Sport Scotland commentator

Iceland stunned nan shot world 10 years ago, reaching their first ever awesome finals erstwhile they qualified for Euro 2016.

What followed defied everything from a country's organization which is smaller than Edinburgh to what had gone before.

As perennial minnows, Iceland were regarded arsenic fodder for countries who regularly made it to awesome finals. Countries specified arsenic Scotland.

But successive awesome tourney qualifications raised nan barroom of nan land nation, who went each nan measurement to nan quarter-finals successful France, beating England en way earlier holding Argentina astatine nan World Cup successful Russia 2 years later.

It has been tougher successful caller years for Iceland, who are onto their 4th coach since nan halcyon days of Lars Lagerback and Heimer Hallgrimsson, having suffered relegation to Nations League C successful March pinch a 5-2 aggregate conclusion to Kosovo.

They besides travel to Glasgow without star-man Orri Oskarsson of Real Sociedad arsenic they excessively look towards their autumn World Cup qualifying campaign.

Who is successful nan squad?

Goalkeepers: Gunn (unattached), McCrorie (Kilmarnock), Slicker (Ipswich Town).

Defenders: Doig (Sassuolo), Hanley (Birmingham City), Hendry (Al-Etiffaq), Johnston (Sturm Graz), Scott McKenna (Las Palmas), Patterson (Everton), Ralston (Celtic), Robertson (Liverpool), Souttar (Rangers), Tierney (Arsenal).

Midfielders: Barron (Rangers), Ferguson (Bologna), Gilmour (Napoli), Irving (West Ham United), McGinn (Aston Villa), McTominay (Napoli), Miller (Motherwell).

Forwards: Adams (Torino), Bowie (Hibernian), Conway (Middlesbrough), Wilson (Heart of Midlothian), Hirst (Ipswich Town).

Match stats

Scotland person won each six of erstwhile meetings pinch Iceland.
This will beryllium Iceland's first sojourn to Hampden since a 2-1 conclusion successful World Cup qualifying successful April 2009. Steven Fletcher and Ross McCormack scored their first world goals for Scotland that day.
Scotland person won conscionable 1 of their past 8 location games successful each competitions (D3 L4), having won six successful a statement astatine Hampden prior.
Iceland person mislaid each of their past 3 games successful each competitions. They past mislaid much games consecutively betwixt October 2020 and March 2021.
Scotland person won 3 of their past 4 matches, aft winning conscionable 1 of 16 games anterior crossed each competitions (D5 L10).
Iceland coach and erstwhile Dundee United guardant Arnar Gunnlaugsson has mislaid his first 2 games successful complaint of nan nation.
Since nan commencement of 2023, Scott McTominay has scored much than double nan number of goals immoderate different subordinate has for Scotland (11 – John McGinn, 5).
Lennon Miller (18 years, 285 days) could make his debut, pinch 18-year-old James Wilson doing truthful against Greece past clip out. The only erstwhile twelvemonth 2 18-year-olds made their debuts was successful 2016, erstwhile Kieran Tierney and Oliver Burke did.