Latest news with #CieranSlicker
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
'I felt like...' - Iceland goalkeeper reveals what surprised him most about Scotland at Hampden
A poor Scotland performance was punished by Iceland as they lost 3-1 at Hampden on Friday. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, 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... Goalkeeper Cieran Slicker will want to start for Scotland against Liechtenstein on Monday after his nightmare debut in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, according to to his opposite number Elias Rafn Olafsson. The 22-year-old debutant was thrown into the action after just six minutes at the national stadium when goalkeeper Angus Gunn appeared to injure his ankle when he came to collect a cross, while fellow stopper Robby McCrorie suffered a thigh injury in the warm-up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, in the opposite goal, Olafsson was hailed as one of Iceland's top performers after making a series of excellent saves to deny George Hirst and, latterly John McGinn, as Scotland pushed to get back into the game, leading the FC Midtjylland man to admit the line between hero and villain is marginal when it comes to being a 'lonely' goalkeeper. Cieran Slicker had a nightmare debut for Scotland and was at fault for all three of Iceland's goals in the 3-1 defeat at Hampden. | Getty Images 'Of course, it's always tough,' said the Icelandic goalkeeper. 'Especially when you come into the game cold off the bench. Then when you come in and make some mistakes, it's hard to get back into the game. I feel empathy for him. It's not the preparation you want for your debut, to not know you're coming in this early in the game as well. It's difficult. It's not going to be the most fun of nights, but it's about keeping your head up. It's just about now going to the hotel, forget about this and move on.' Asked if he'd ever had a similar experience himself, the 25-year-old was quick to recall his own error in the Europa League clash against FCSB last November, where he gifted the Romanian outfit a goal just three seconds into the second-half of the game when his clearance was charged down by Daniel Bîrligea. Explaining what he did to get over the mistake that saw his side fall to a 2-0 defeat, Olafsson believes Slicker must simply get back on the horse as quickly as possible, and backed him to start for Steve Clarke's side against Liechtenstein on Monday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It probably is [the best thing for him to play again on Monday] to be honest,' said the Iceland international. 'To come into the game and know you're going to play. That's 100% the best thing, in my opinion. I had one in the Europa League game. I don't know if you've seen it. It's a pretty big mistake from kick-off, but that's how it is. Elias Rafn Olafsson in action for FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima 'People see the mistakes. You have to be strong mentally for that. You just have to be honest. It's a mistake by you. You just have to be honest and forget about it. It's a part of the game. When we make mistakes, it's very obvious — it leads to a goal. It's a bit of a different position to the outfield players. You hope you make them in training, not in the games. But you can't always. It was not his day today. It was a hard game to come into. I feel it's hard making any debut, coming in when you don't expect to come in as a goalkeeper off the bench.' His country's first ever victory on Scottish soil, the imposing 6ft 7in goalkeeper admits the win was vitally important to Iceland as he reflected on his own performance in Mount Florida and explained what surprised him most about Scotland's display. 'It's a really big one, especially with the new things we're trying to build,' said Olafsson. 'It worked out pretty well. Apart from the last 20 minutes where we fell back a little bit trying to keep the ball a little bit, it went well. It was really nice to play in front of the Scottish fans as well. It was a nice experience. It was definitely one of the most fun ones. It really was. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Why Scotland debutant must start vs Liechtenstein as Iceland star reveals what surprised him most at Hampden
Scotland debutant Cieran Slicker had a night to forget at Hampden on Friday. Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, 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... Goalkeeper Cieran Slicker needs to start for Scotland against Liechtenstein on Monday after his nightmare debut in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Iceland at Hampden on Friday night, according to to his opposite number Elias Rafn Olafsson. The 22-year-old debutant was thrown into the action after just six minutes at the national stadium when goalkeeper Angus Gunn appeared to injure his ankle when he came to collect a cross, while fellow stopper Robby McCrorie suffered a thigh injury in the warm-up. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, in the opposite goal, Olafsson was hailed as one of Iceland's top performers after making a series of excellent saves to deny George Hirst and, latterly John McGinn, as Scotland pushed to get back into the game, leading the FC Midtjylland man to admit the line between hero and villain is marginal when it comes to being a 'lonely' goalkeeper. Cieran Slicker had a nightmare debut for Scotland and was at fault for all three of Iceland's goals in the 3-1 defeat at Hampden. | Getty Images 'Of course, it's always tough,' said the Icelandic goalkeeper. 'Especially when you come into the game cold off the bench. Then when you come in and make some mistakes, it's hard to get back into the game. I feel empathy for him. It's not the preparation you want for your debut, to not know you're coming in this early in the game as well. It's difficult. It's not going to be the most fun of nights, but it's about keeping your head up. It's just about now going to the hotel, forget about this and move on.' Asked if he'd ever had a similar experience himself, the 25-year-old was quick to recall his own error in the Europa League clash against FCSB last November, where he gifted the Romanian outfit a goal just three seconds into the second-half of the game when his clearance was charged down by Daniel Bîrligea. Explaining what he did to get over the mistake that saw his side fall to a 2-0 defeat, Olafsson believes Slicker must simply get back on the horse as quickly as possible, and backed him to start for Steve Clarke's side against Liechtenstein on Monday. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It probably is [the best thing for him to play again on Monday] to be honest,' said the Iceland international. 'To come into the game and know you're going to play. That's 100% the best thing, in my opinion. I had one in the Europa League game. I don't know if you've seen it. It's a pretty big mistake from kick-off, but that's how it is. Elias Rafn Olafsson in action for FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. | Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Ima 'People see the mistakes. You have to be strong mentally for that. You just have to be honest. It's a mistake by you. You just have to be honest and forget about it. It's a part of the game. When we make mistakes, it's very obvious — it leads to a goal. It's a bit of a different position to the outfield players. You hope you make them in training, not in the games. But you can't always. It was not his day today. It was a hard game to come into. I feel it's hard making any debut, coming in when you don't expect to come in as a goalkeeper off the bench.' His country's first ever victory on Scottish soil, the imposing 6ft 7in goalkeeper admits the win was vitally important to Iceland as he reflected on his own performance in Mount Florida and explained what surprised him most about Scotland's display. 'It's a really big one, especially with the new things we're trying to build,' said Olafsson. 'It worked out pretty well. Apart from the last 20 minutes where we fell back a little bit trying to keep the ball a little bit, it went well. It was really nice to play in front of the Scottish fans as well. It was a nice experience. It was definitely one of the most fun ones. It really was. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Daily Mail
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
JEEPERS KEEPERS: Clarke is in a pickle after Slicker's debut disaster... but maybe throwing the young goalie back in for Liechtenstein game could still be the best way forward?
ON a night in which the position of goalkeeper really did look like the loneliest one of all, words of consolation for Cieran Slicker echoed loud and clear across Hampden Park from the opposite dressing room. Iceland No 1 Elias Rafn Olafsson knows what it is like to be castigated for an absolute howler. In a Europa League group fixture away to Steaua Bucharest with his Danish club side FC Midtyjlland in November, he took a pass from kick-off at the start of the second half 35 yards from goal, whacked an attempted ball forward off opposing forward Daniel Birligea and watched it loop right back over his head towards goal. Birligea won the race to nod it in. Steaua won 2-0. Olafsson's rush of blood to the head went viral. It takes a strong constitution to shake that off and a heart of stone not to see another keeper going through similar agonies and not feel the urge to show some empathy. Olafsson did that on Friday night all right. However, he's not the guy picking the Scotland team for a friendly against Liechtenstein tomorrow evening. And the guy who is, Steve Clarke, didn't exactly offer resounding words of confidence in Slicker's readiness to be thrown back between the sticks in the wake of an absolute nightmare of a Scotland debut in which he was to blame for all three goals in Iceland's 3-1 win. Clarke did explain he will talk to Slicker back at base camp. He did not rule out the idea of him playing in Vaduz. After all, Robby McCrorie was hurt in the warm-up at Hampden, leaving the Ipswich Town keeper as the only remaining option when Angus Gunn went down injured early on. But his comments on Slicker, who had nine minutes of football all season behind him and has never played in an adult league game, not being 'quite ready for it' stood out and made you wonder why he was part of the squad at all. 'This was probably an opportunity that came a little bit too early for Cieran, but we'll be there to support him and help him,' said the national coach. Clarke has been hunting around for another keeper who hasn't disappeared on holiday and looks like he has settled on Ross Doohan. There certainly weren't many outstanding candidates. Scott Bain left Celtic for Falkirk after a spell as third-choice, but he has made only three appearances in two campaigns and didn't play at all last season. Doohan filled in for Aberdeen when Dimitar Mitov was injured, but his ambition has extended to little more than going back to former club Celtic to be the next Scott Bain. Former Rangers keeper Jon McLaughlin played only once for Swansea after going there last summer. Jon McCracken lost his place at Dundee. Zander Clark, Liam Kelly and Craig Gordon are all injured. Part of the problem is that Slicker's body language on Friday night was not good. He looked haunted from the moment Iceland's first goal went in. And if he is to convince Clarke he deserves a chance at wiping the slate clean, this is where Olafsson is unyielding. Slicker has to look the Scotland boss in the eyes and make it evident to him that he has the character to bounce back — because getting back out there on the field and showing what he can really do will be the best way to put Friday's calamities to bed. 'Playing again as soon as possible is 100 per cent the best thing, in my opinion,' said 25-year-old Olafsson, who earned just his seventh full cap at Hampden. 'To come into the game and know you're going to play. It's just about going to the hotel, then forgetting about (Friday) and moving on. 'I had one of those in that Europa League game. It was a pretty big mistake from kick-off, but that's how it is. 'To get over it, you just have to be honest and forget about it. It's a mistake by you. But it's a part of the game. 'When we make mistakes, it's very obvious — it leads to a goal. That's why it is a different position to the outfield players. 'Goalkeeper is definitely the loneliest position in the team. People see the mistakes. That's how it is. You have to be strong mentally for that. I feel empathy with him (Slicker). 'It's always tough, especially when you come into the game cold off the bench. When you come in and make some mistakes, it's hard to get back into the game. 'I feel it's hard making any debut, coming in when you don't expect to come in as a goalkeeper off the bench. 'International football is a different game as well. It's a little bit like European football. 'If you make mistakes, you get hit in the face. It's a different kind of football from the club level.' It's a tough one for Clarke. He needs to see in his weekend discussions that Slicker has been capable of putting that night from hell behind him. Let's face it, the fellow is in the wrong game if he hasn't. There's also the prospect of further damage at an early stage in his career if he fouls up again. However, it is Liechtenstein. It's a game Scotland should dominate. It's a chance for the bloke to get back on the bike, be part of a winning team and do a bit of damage limitation. Bournemouth's Callan McKenna, at 18, is too young to play and Doohan is surely so far down the pecking order that he is unlikely to have any realistic hope of an international future. If Clarke and his coaching staff really do believe Slicker can develop into someone of worth for the longer-term future — and see the right signs in him over the next 24 hours — maybe thinking the unthinkable and throwing him in again could be the biggest show of support of all.
Scotsman
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Big questions hanging over Steve Clarke and Scotland - and goalkeeper issue is only tip of iceberg
Tartan Army losing faith ahead of World Cup qualification campaign Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, 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... While Scotland's performance against Iceland on Friday is unlikely to ruin anyone's summer - it was a friendly after all - there was much to be concerned about ahead of the World Cup qualifiers kicking off in September. The immediate post-mortem surrounded the performance of rookie goalkeeper Cieran Slicker, who was thrust into a situation he was ill-equipped to handle, but this was not the only factor in the dismal defeat. Far from it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Slicker's personal nightmare - the 22-year-old culpable for all three goals conceded after replacing the injured Angus Gunn inside seven minutes - has masked what was another gruesome Scotland display across all areas of the pitch. I say 'another' because such horror shows are becoming all too frequent for Steve Clarke's side. Scotland head coach Steve Clarke looks downbeat during the 3-1 defeat to Iceland at Hampden on Friday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group In isolation, a 3-1 home loss against the nation sitting 74th in the Fifa rankings is bad enough. But against the backdrop of just one victory in nine Hampden outings - including miserable defeats to Greece, Poland and Northern Ireland - not to mention the lamentable showing at Euro 2024, it is little wonder that the Tartan Army are reaching breaking point. The boos which followed the half-time and full-time whistles on Friday proved as much. As did 20,000 empty seats, although exorbitant ticket prices for a friendly match almost certainly played a role in the reduced attendance. Has Clarke taken Scotland as far as he can? Scotland fans are entitled to expect better from their team. The consequence of such worrying form is that serious questions are again being raised over the direction of travel under Clarke as he enters the seventh, and likely final year of his tenure. The long-serving head coach has brought some great times to Scotland. Qualifying for back-to-back Euros to end a 23-year wait for a major finals will be his proud legacy, regardless of the disappointments he has also endured. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, every manager has a shelf life and it feels like the 61-year-old is approaching the end of his. Some would argue it has already expired. That Clarke has taken Scotland as far as he can and that fresh ideas are required ahead of the 2026 World Cup bid. Scotland's Cieran Slicker at full time after the 3-1 defeat to Iceland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group Social media has been awash with calls for the manager to be relieved of his duties over the past 48 hours. AI-generated pictures of Ange Postecoglou in a Scotland tie and blazer have also been circulated. The notion of Clarke being replaced by the ex-Tottenham and Celtic boss is a fanciful one. The Scottish FA, rightly or wrongly, will not be minded to deny Clarke the opportunity to see out the final year of his contract in spite of the wavering faith of the Tartan Army. But it is equally unlikely that Clarke will fulfil his dream of leading the nation to next year's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico without a marked improvement in performances. Problems all over the pitch Solving the goalkeeper issue is an obvious priority. But providing Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly are fit again by September, then this will likely be resolved on its own, at least in the short term. It felt more like bad luck than bad judgement that Slicker ended up making his international debut having barely made a handful of senior appearances for Ipswich. The former Scotland Under-21 was in the squad to gain experience, rather than minutes on the park. A lesson for Clarke perhaps that he cannot afford to call up players who are not ready and able to play. One can only hope Slicker's career trajectory has not been fatally damaged by this unfortunate episode. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Where Clarke's problems run deeper is in his tactics, team selection and motivating his players. The return to a back five in a home friendly against Iceland felt like a major step back from the progress that had been made across the Nations League campaign where Scotland were a much more progressive and balanced outfit with a back four. The lacklustre and half-hearted efforts of the players at Hampden on Friday suggested they too were not particularly enamoured with being asked to reprise a system that was binned after being so badly exposed at Euro 2024. The infuriating sideways and backwards passing was a throwback to last summer's tournament where Scotland's stunted attack barely registered a shot on goal. This is football with the handbrake on. The persistence with Grant Hanley also continues to cause bemusement and frustration given the 33-year-old's lack of club action. Loyalty is an admirable trait that has served Clarke well, but it can also be a major flaw when younger, match-fit alternatives are consistently overlooked, particularly in a friendly, where Hanley, understandably, appeared laboured. Scott McKenna, after a season in La Liga competing against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, must be wondering what he has done wrong. The apparent obsession over accommodating both Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney in the starting line-up cannot be the sole determining factor when it comes to team set up. It would, though, take a brave call to decide which of the two to leave out, or as has been suggested, push one into left midfield. Scotland's George Hirst (centre) looks dejected after heading over the bar during the defeat to Iceland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Midfield strength must be harnessed Clarke also needs to solve the midfield dilemma over how best to utilise the strongest area of his team. Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn - on paper a midfield that should dictate matches against better teams than Iceland but they were set up in such a way that allowed the opposition to run through them all too easily. With Ryan Christie to come back into the equation, and Lennon Miller emerging as a player of huge promise, Clarke has more than enough quality at his disposal to ensure the Scotland engine room functions properly - which includes freeing up McTominay to play centrally as an attacking force, which he has done to devastating effect with Napoli in Serie A this season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There is also the striking problem. Clarke gave George Hirst his chance against Iceland and, barring a poor miss with a first-half header, the Ipswich front man gave a decent account of himself, forcing two good saves from goalkeeper Elías Rafn Ólafsson and netting a goal which was ruled out for an offside against McTominay in the build-up. But it was another match which passed by without a Scotland striker hitting the target. It has been a year and counting since Lawrence Shankland headed the opener in the 2-2 draw with Finland. Has any team ever qualified for a World Cup without a striker finding the net? Scotland do have an in-form striker at their disposal. Che Adams bagged 10 goals in his debut season in Serie A with Torino, having netted 19 times for Southampton the previous campaign, yet has managed just one goal for his country - against minnows Gibraltar - in approaching three years. Something has to change with the way Scotland set up to give their starting striker, whoever it may be, more service.
Scotsman
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
Big questions hanging over Steve Clarke and Scotland - and goalkeeper issue is only part of it
Tartan Army losing faith ahead of World Cup qualification campaign Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, 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... While Scotland's performance against Iceland on Friday is unlikely to ruin anyone's summer - it was a friendly after all - there was much to be concerned about ahead of the World Cup qualifiers kicking off in September. The immediate post-mortem surrounded the performance of rookie goalkeeper Cieran Slicker, who was thrust into a situation he was ill-equipped to handle, but this was not the only factor in the dismal defeat. Far from it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Slicker's personal nightmare - the 22-year-old culpable for all three goals conceded after replacing the injured Angus Gunn inside seven minutes - has masked what was another gruesome Scotland display across all areas of the pitch. I say 'another' because such horror shows are becoming all too frequent for Steve Clarke's side. Scotland head coach Steve Clarke looks downbeat during the 3-1 defeat to Iceland at Hampden on Friday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group In isolation, a 3-1 home loss against the nation sitting 74th in the Fifa rankings is bad enough. But against the backdrop of just one victory in nine Hampden outings - including miserable defeats to Greece, Poland and Northern Ireland - not to mention the lamentable showing at Euro 2024, it is little wonder that the Tartan Army are reaching breaking point. The boos which followed the half-time and full-time whistles on Friday proved as much. As did 20,000 empty seats, although exorbitant ticket prices for a friendly match almost certainly played a role in the reduced attendance. Has Clarke taken Scotland as far as he can? Scotland fans are entitled to expect better from their team. The consequence of such worrying form is that serious questions are again being raised over the direction of travel under Clarke as he enters the seventh, and likely final year of his tenure. The long-serving head coach has brought some great times to Scotland. Qualifying for back-to-back Euros to end a 23-year wait for a major finals will be his proud legacy, regardless of the disappointments he has also endured. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad However, every manager has a shelf life and it feels like the 61-year-old is approaching the end of his. Some would argue it has already expired. That Clarke has taken Scotland as far as he can and that fresh ideas are required ahead of the 2026 World Cup bid. Scotland's Cieran Slicker at full time after the 3-1 defeat to Iceland. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group) | SNS Group Social media has been awash with calls for the manager to be relieved of his duties over the past 48 hours. AI-generated pictures of Ange Postecoglou in a Scotland tie and blazer have also been circulated. The notion of Clarke being replaced by the ex-Tottenham and Celtic boss is a fanciful one. The Scottish FA, rightly or wrongly, will not be minded to deny Clarke the opportunity to see out the final year of his contract in spite of the wavering faith of the Tartan Army. But it is equally unlikely that Clarke will fulfil his dream of leading the nation to next year's tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico without a marked improvement in performances. Problems all over the pitch Solving the goalkeeper issue is an obvious priority. But providing Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly are fit again by September, then this will likely be resolved on its own, at least in the short term. It felt more like bad luck than bad judgement that Slicker ended up making his international debut having barely made a handful of senior appearances for Ipswich. The former Scotland Under-21 was in the squad to gain experience, rather than minutes on the park. A lesson for Clarke perhaps that he cannot afford to call up players who are not ready and able to play. One can only hope Slicker's career trajectory has not been fatally damaged by this unfortunate episode. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Where Clarke's problems run deeper is in his tactics, team selection and motivating his players. The return to a back five in a home friendly against Iceland felt like a major step back from the progress that had been made across the Nations League campaign where Scotland were a much more progressive and balanced outfit with a back four. The lacklustre and half-hearted efforts of the players at Hampden on Friday suggested they too were not particularly enamoured with being asked to reprise a system that was binned after being so badly exposed at Euro 2024. The infuriating sideways and backwards passing was a throwback to last summer's tournament where Scotland's stunted attack barely registered a shot on goal. This is football with the handbrake on. The persistence with Grant Hanley also continues to cause bemusement and frustration given the 33-year-old's lack of club action. Loyalty is an admirable trait that has served Clarke well, but it can also be a major flaw when younger, match-fit alternatives are consistently overlooked, particularly in a friendly, where Hanley, understandably, appeared laboured. Scott McKenna, after a season in La Liga competing against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal, must be wondering what he has done wrong. The apparent obsession over accommodating both Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney in the starting line-up cannot be the sole determining factor when it comes to team set up. It would, though, take a brave call to decide which of the two is first choice left-back and leave the other one out, or as has been suggested, push one into left midfield. Scotland's George Hirst (centre) looks dejected after heading over the bar during the defeat to Iceland. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group) | SNS Group Midfield strength must be harnessed Clarke also needs to solve the midfield dilemma over how best to utilise the strongest area of his team. Scott McTominay, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Ferguson, John McGinn - on paper a midfield that should dictate matches against better teams than Iceland but they were set up in such a way that allowed the opposition to run through them all too easily. With Ryan Christie to come back into the equation, and Lennon Miller emerging as a player of huge promise, Clarke has more than enough quality at his disposal to ensure the Scotland engine room functions properly - which includes freeing up McTominay to play centrally as an attacking force, which he has done to devastating effect with Napoli in Serie A this season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad There is also the striking problem. Clarke gave George Hirst his chance against Iceland and, barring a poor miss with a first-half header, the Ipswich front man gave a decent account of himself, forcing two good saves from goalkeeper Elías Rafn Ólafsson and netting a goal which was ruled out for an offside against McTominay in the build-up. But it was another match which passed by without a Scotland striker hitting the target. It has been a year and counting since Lawrence Shankland headed the opener in the 2-2 draw with Finland. Has any team ever qualified for a World Cup without a striker finding the net?
