Scotland starting XI vs Liechtenstein as Steve Clarke makes changes
Clarke's men are looking to bounce back from a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Iceland at Hampden Park last time out.
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Andri Gudjohnsen opened the scoring for the visitors, and although John Souttar soon equalised for the hosts, Lewis Ferguson's own goal, combined with Victor Palsson's header early in the second half, wrapped up a memorable Icelandic triumph.
Since Friday's loss, key duo Scott McTominay and Kieran Tierney have dropped out of the Scotland squad through injury.
No replacements for the outfield pair were drafted in, but amid a crisis between the sticks, uncapped goalkeepers Callan McKenna and Ross Doohan were both called up.
Clarke has opted to start the latter ahead of young Cieran Slicker, as he makes six changes to his lineup for tonight.
Scotland starting XI: Doohan, Ralston, Robertson, McGinn, Gilmour, Hirst, Adams, Hendry, Miller, S. McKenna, Ferguson.
Subs: C. McKenna, Slicker, Hanley, Conway, Souttar, Irving, Wilson, Barron, Johnston, Doig, Patterson, Bowie.
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Steve Clarke 'pleased' with Adams amid major Carver update
The national team put Liechtenstein to the sword in a 4-0 friendly victory, bouncing back from a 3-1 defeat to Iceland at Hampden last time out. Speaking post-match, Clarke reflected on the emphatic win, explaining how Sunday night's Nations League final proved how Scotland can still compete at the elite level: "I know my players, I trust my players... It's nice to finish this camp with a nice win," he told BBC. Read more: "Most teams will come here and win against Liechtenstein, but not many come here and score four goals. "It's still a disappointing camp because we didn't play as we can play in the home game at Hampden. "I'm certainly going to carry that into August. There was a little bit of hurt and anger in the dressing room, I think you saw that in the first 20 to 25 minutes when the players were really on it. "If you look at the Nations League final between Portugal and Spain, in recent times, this Scotland team has shown how competitive it can be against that type of team. "So, you look at the two best teams in Europe competing in a final, we can compete." Forward Adams' display was perhaps his finest in dark blue. A perfect hat-trick, combined with a fine assist for strike partner George Hirst, meant the Torino man grabbed the headlines. Despite making several substitutions throughout the 90, Clarke left a hungry Adams on: "I'm really pleased for Che," he added. "We know what Che can bring. He's been with us for a couple of years now. He's a top-quality striker. "I left him on because I knew he would be desperate for a hat-trick." Question marks have hung over the future of Clarke's long-term lieutenant, Carver, for some time. The 60-year-old joined the Scotland set up in 2020 but recently took up a role with Polish Ekstraklasa outfit Lechia Gdansk, whom he successfully helped avoid the drop to the second-tier last season. "I think the wave goodbye to the crowd was a giveaway," admitted Clarke post-match. "The thing with John was that when I approached him to come and help us, I didn't think he'd be here for five years because he's a talented coach. We'll miss him, we'll have to look to replace him, and that'll be my job over the summer. We wish him every success."
Scotsman
30 minutes ago
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Steve Clarke pays emotional tribute to Scotland right-hand man as he confirms departure after friendly win
Assistant national team coach John Carver will leave the Scotland coaching staff after agreeing a permanent deal to remain in charge of Lechia Gdansk in Poland. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Steve Clarke has revealed his assistant John Carver with leave his role as Scotland No.2 after accepting the offer of a permanent deal to remain in charge of Polish side Lechia Gdansk. The highly-regarded and popular Geordie coach has been a key part of Clarke's backroom team over the past five years, but will now return to his club duties on a full-time basis after leading Gdansk away from the relegation zone last season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There was speculation that Carver faced a big decision over his future involvement with the national team as a result, with club chiefs offering the 60-year-old a three-year deal. And Clarke confirmed his right-hand man will no longer be part of his coaching set-up going forward ahead of starting the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign in September. 'I think the wave goodbye to the crowd was probably a giveaway,' Clarke said when quizzed on the Carver exit rumours after his side's 4-0 friendly win over Liechtenstein in Vaduz. 'Yeah, listen, the thing with John is when I approached him five years ago to come in and help us, I didn't think he'd be here for five years because he's such a talented coach. 'So, the fact it's taken five years for somebody to take him away from us, to offer him a full-time contract and a three-year deal is good for Scotland. Probably not good for John. As I said, he's a very talented coach and we'll miss him. We'll have to look to replace him and that will be one of my jobs over the summer.' Asked if he's got another coach to join his staff in mind, Clarke responded: 'I've got plenty of people in mind. I'll have a few conversations. But, like I say, John and I go back a long way. We first crossed paths back in 1998 at Newcastle when John was a young coach coming through and I'd moved there with Ruud Gullit. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We always said that we'd work together. It took us ages to do that, but when we first worked together we didn't think John would be with us for that long because I was convinced somebody would come and take him. But we're pleased he's been here for five years and we wish him every success in Gdansk.' Former Southampton striker Che Adams bagged himself a hat-trick and George Hirst converted his first international goal as the Scots signed off their season with a comfortable win to ensure they build some positive momentum heading into the qualifiers. 'I'm happy to get on the scoresheet and help the team,' Adams stated. 'It's nice to score for Scotland, it's not happened much since I've been here. 'We knew it would be difficult, the conditions weren't great, but we were very professional and our mentality was spot on. It was important to sign off this year with the win. We're happy to put things right from the Iceland game.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Fellow hitman Hirst was delighted to get off the mark for his adopted country on his fourth cap. The Ipswich Town ace admitted: 'To get that first goal is massive for me, but it was a great team performance and very professional. 'It was very disappointing on Friday night, we had to look at ourselves, but the good thing in football is you always have another opportunity and today we had that chance to put things right. 'They made it difficult for us, it was a dry pitch, there were millions of excuses we could've thrown out there, but we played with the right mentality. It makes my running a little easier, sharing the workload with Che. If that's something to come moving forward then I'm not going to complain.'
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36 minutes ago
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Can we play you every week? As the Tartan Army belted out the words and enjoyed a victorious sing-song in the Vaduz sunshine, it was clear that Scotland's recent malaise hadn't killed their sense of humour. After tripping and falling so clumsily against Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, this was a waltz for Steve Clarke's side in this picturesque little corner of the world nestled between Austria and Switzerland. A glorified training exercise against extremely limited opposition? Yeah, undoubtedly, but also a much-needed confidence boost heading into the far more serious business of the World Cup qualifiers in September. In particular, this should be a shot in the arm for Che Adams heading into those matches. He looked sharp throughout and deserved his hat-trick in the end. The fact George Hirst chipped in with the other and got off the mark in a Scotland jersey, meaning that all four goals were scored by strikers, is a welcome boost to all concerned. Prior to this victory over Liechtenstein, no Scotland striker had scored a goal in the past 12 games, a run which stretched back to Lawrence Shankland netting in a 2-2 draw with Finland before the Euros last summer. Being so blunt and uncreative in attack partly explains why Scotland's form has tailed off so badly over the past year or so. But the lack of goals from our strikers is a key issue which needs to be addressed moving forward if we are to have a chance of reaching the World Cup. Scotland can't always rely on John McGinn or Scott McTominay to pop up with a goal. The strikers needs to chip in and contribute more - especially in the games that really matter. Adams' record is the perfect demonstration of this. All in all, he now has nine goals in 39 caps. But only three of those goals have come in competitive fixtures. The last time he scored in a competitive match for Scotland was back in June 2022. The teams he has scored against now include Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Armenia, Moldova, Luxembourg, the Faroe Islands, and Denmark. Barring the Danes, it reads as a who's who of European football no-marks. Scotland can't afford to have flat-track bullies up front. So while Adams will take the plaudits for his hat-trick last night, his overall record in a Scotland jersey is still lacklustre in the games that really count. Only he can change that. That's not to say he doesn't offer anything to the team. His mobility and pace make him a big asset. But it's goals he needs to add. He's not alone. When Lyndon Dykes has been fit, he hasn't been prolific either. Dykes hasn't scored for Scotland since the win over Norway in Oslo two years ago, a run of 13 games all in all. So let's not be getting too carried away by anything that happened in this routine win over a team who would struggle to beat the likes of East Fife and Berwick Rangers. Scotland were on the brink of a full-blown crisis. It was a game they had to win in order to restore some confidence and momentum. They got the job done and that was that. After all the fall-out around goalkeeper Cieran Slicker and the mistakes he made against Iceland, it was Ross Doohan who came in to make his Scotland debut. Doohan had to cut short a family holiday, but he may as well have still been on the beach. Such was the non-existent nature of Liechtenstein's attack, Scotland could have called up Jim Leighton and been no worse off. Beyond the goals from Adams and Hirst, it was Lennon Miller who was the best player on the pitch. Bright and creative throughout, this was an excellent display on his full debut for the Motherwell youngster. Whilst it would be premature to suggest that he gets into the team ahead of the likes of John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour or Lewis Ferguson, it's clear Miller has a long Scotland career ahead of him. He will be back amongst the squad when the World Cup qualifiers come around in September, a quick burst of games across two months which starts with away trips to Denmark and Belarus. If Adams will head off on his summer holidays now feeling like he has rediscovered a lethal touch in front of goal, Scotland better hope it doesn't disappear again by the time those games come around.
