Key selection questions for Scotland after Iceland blow

BBC News

9 hours ago

As abject Scotland performances go, Friday's home defeat by Iceland - 30 places below their hosts at 74th in the world rankings - was right up there on a long and growing list.Steve Clarke's side have only one more friendly - Monday's trip to minnows Liechtenstein - before visiting Denmark in their opening World Cup qualifier in September.What questions does the head coach face before his side take to Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, and what can he really learn from a game against a team sitting 205th in the world rankings?
Who is left to play in goal?
Clarke had warned last month the lack of available goalkeepers was "probably an oversight" by the Scottish FA, but little did he know that his words would become so immediately prophetic.Already unable to call up Craig Gordon, Zander Clark and Liam Kelly, he was shorn of Robby McCrorie when the Kilmarnock man pulled a thigh muscle in the warm-up on Friday before recalled former first-choice Angus Gunn twisted his ankle six minutes into the game at Hampden.It is fair to say Cieran Slicker would not have been expecting to make his international debut - especially as the 22-year-old had only played 10 minutes for Ipswich Town last season and is still to make his league debut for the club.His slack clearance almost immediately handed Iceland their opener and, while not the only culprit in Lewis Ferguson's own goal, he was badly at fault for the third as a bad night for Scotland turned into a personal nightmare.Clarke admitted tackling the depth of goalkeeping talent is "more for the long term", but he desperately needs a short-term fix and is seeking to draft in "another goalkeeper in Scotland who's not on holiday", with Ross Doohan, who left Aberdeen last week, reportedly the frontrunner.The head coach said Slicker had been thrust into a limelight "he wasn't quite ready for" and former Scotland midfielder Michael Stewart says Clarke faces "a big call" should Gunn and McCrorie fail to recover in time."Do you stick with him and hope he can put in a performance that gives him some belief and feels like he's capable, or do you go for damage limitation and recognise that Cieran Slicker is not really going to be playing for Scotland in the future?" he said on BBC Sportsound."I feel for Slicker. It's a horrible situation to be in, but that is the ruthlessness of football at this top level, and it's been exposed there badly."Perhaps it will not matter who is in goal considering Liechtenstein did not have any touches inside Wales' penalty box - never mind an attempt on goal - in Friday's 3-0 Nations League defeat in Cardiff.Indeed, Monday's hosts have only won one of their past 48 games - 1-0 in a friendly against Hong Kong in October - and have scored once in five defeats since a goalless draw with Gibraltar.
Back three or back four?
Whether Scotland should play with two or three central defenders has long been a debating point - and especially so when both Kieran Tierney and captain Andy Robertson are available.When you have two top-class left-backs at your disposal, the tendency has been to use Robertson as a wing-back and Tierney on the left of a central three, where the 28-year-old has proven effective.However, during regular injury absences that have partly led to Tierney exiting Arsenal for a return to Celtic, Clarke has recently reverted to a back four.While that formation produced heartening away wins over Poland and Greece - and at home to Croatia - it was cruelly exposed by the Greeks in the Nations League play-off return in March.However, Scotland looked equally porous when Clarke reverted to a five on Tierney's return on Friday.Stewart thought Slicker had been put "in a desperate situation" as Scotland attempted to play out from the back."Defensively, we were shocking at times," he said. "When we went back to four against Iceland, we looked more comfortable."Former Scotland captain Willie Miller also prefers a return to two central defenders."The two that finished the game [John Souttar and Scott McKenna] are more than capable - athletic, tall, quick and read the game well," he said.
Where is the midfield creativity?
Midfield has, rightly so, long been viewed as Scotland's main strength.However, with Celtic captain Callum McGregor calling time on his international career and Norwich City's Kenny McLean also missing, the holding midfield options have been reduced significantly.Billy Gilmour helped Napoli to the Serie A title in that position, but clubmate Scott McTominay, Aston Villa's John McGinn and Bologna's Ferguson are all more effective in a more advanced role.On paper, the quartet would have been expected to dominate an Iceland midfield containing players from Preston North End, Al-Orobah, Fortuna Dusseldorf, Hertha Berlin and Lille, but they failed to do so.Miller thinks 18-year-old Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller, given his debut as a substitute on Friday, is worthy of being given a chance on Monday as he "looked a player of real quality when he came on".
Where is the speed?
Finding some speed in attack is of the essence for Scotland and the introduction of Ben Doak provided a spark Clarke's side had been lacking when the Liverpool winger made his debut in September.In five appearances thereafter, the 19-year-old quickly became one of his country's most potent threats - only to have his season curtailed by an injury picked up on loan to Middlesbrough.Stewart thinks his absence has been keenly felt in successive home defeats by Greece and Iceland, where Clarke was unable to introduce anyone with significant pace to exploit the width of the Hampden pitch to his advantage."We played in the Nations League and we were absolutely outstanding against the top teams," he said. "Doak transformed this side. "We don't have him at the moment and we've gone back to the back three with Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson in the team and there's a big debate and decision to be made when Ben Doak is fit again."
Who will play up front?
Souttar scored Scotland's goal against Iceland on Friday, so it is still a year since a striker last netted for Clarke's side - Lawrence Shankland in a 2-2 draw with Finland.With the Hearts captain absent after a difficult season with his club, George Hirst was handed his first international start against Iceland.The 26-year-old made just seven starts for Ipswich Town last season but was given the nod despite Che Adams having been praised after his debut campaign for Torino in Serie A.Stewart thought Hirst "looked alright" but "did not have a great deal to feed off".However, he hopes Hibernian 22-year-old Kieron Bowie is given a chance on Tuesday "because it is a position that's up for grabs".Given that Liechtenstein have lost 2-0 to Malta, 3-1 to San Marino, 3-0 to North Macedonia, 2-0 to Kazakhstan and 3-0 away in their latest five games, there should be plenty of opportunities for whichever striker starts."He's got a couple of big decisions to make in terms of system and a few personnel calls, but I don't have any major concerns," Stewart added.