Clarke won't 'experiment' in Scotland friendlies
International friendly: Scotland v IcelandWhen: Friday, 6 June Where: Hampden Park Kick-off: 19:45 BSTCoverage: Watch live on BBC One Scotland and BBC Sport website & app, online text updates, listen on BBC Radio Scotland
Head coach Steve Clarke says the new players he has called up are embracing being part of the Scotland squad, but he won't be "experimenting" with his side too much in the friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein.Clarke called up seven uncapped players for the matches on Friday at Hampden and in Vaduz on Monday - both live on 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 all vying for a first cap.However, the head coach says his side will have a familar look against Iceland."I think you know me quite well by now - we don't really experiment too much," Clarke said.
"With any team, there has to be a cycle and a turnover of players eventually. You're bringing these young players in to feel the level of the group, to understand where they need to get to, to be selected regularly. That's important."The young ones are in a good place. There's one or two of them coming into this camp better than the last time they came."Clarke has also been impressed by the commitment shown by his more established players at turning up for these friendlies at the end of gruelling campaigns.Among those is captain Andy Robertson, who has also been impressed by the new faces among the squad, both in terms of their abilities on the training pitch but also in their attitudes and willingness to learn."Me, Scott McTominay, John McGinn, we're not going to be around forever. Then it's up to the young lads," the Liverpool full-back said. "It will soon be their squad, they will then have to step up and set standards. So them understanding how difficult international football is, is crucial. "I know from my experience, the younger that I experienced that, the better it was and then I just kind of grew into it. And maybe in 10 years time, I can be watching them at a World Cup."
What should we expect from Iceland?
Iceland stunned the football world 10 years ago, reaching their first ever major finals when they qualified for Euro 2016.What followed defied everything from a country's population which is smaller than Edinburgh to what had gone before.As perennial minnows, Iceland were regarded as fodder for countries who regularly made it to major finals. Countries such as Scotland.But successive major tournament qualifications raised the bar of the island nation, who went all the way to the quarter-finals in France, beating England en route before holding Argentina at the World Cup in Russia two years later.It has been tougher in recent years for Iceland, who are onto their fourth coach since the halcyon days of Lars Lagerback and Heimer Hallgrimsson, having suffered relegation to Nations League C in March with a 5-2 aggregate defeat to Kosovo.They also come to Glasgow without star-man Orri Oskarsson of Real Sociedad as they too look towards their autumn World Cup qualifying campaign.
Who is in the 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 have won all six of previous meetings with Iceland.This will be Iceland's first visit to Hampden since a 2-1 defeat in World Cup qualifying in April 2009. Steven Fletcher and Ross McCormack scored their first international goals for Scotland that day.Scotland have won just one of their last eight home games in all competitions (D3 L4), having won six in a row at Hampden prior.Iceland have lost each of their last three games in all competitions. They last lost more games consecutively between October 2020 and March 2021.Scotland have won three of their last four matches, after winning just one of 16 games prior across all competitions (D5 L10).Iceland coach and former Dundee United forward Arnar Gunnlaugsson has lost his first two games in charge of the nation.Since the start of 2023, Scott McTominay has scored more than double the number of goals any other player has for Scotland (11 – John McGinn, 5).Lennon Miller (18 years, 285 days) could make his debut, with 18-year-old James Wilson doing so against Greece last time out. The only previous year two 18-year-olds made their debuts was in 2016, when Kieran Tierney and Oliver Burke did.
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