Scotland face Serbia on Thursday night for what is arguably their biggest match in more than a decade as they look to secure qualification for next summer’s UEFA EURO 2020 tournament finals.
Following last month’s penalty shootout victory in the Semi-final Play-off against Israel at an empty Hampden Park the team are now one win away from making history as the first Scotland men’s team to qualify for a finals since the World Cup in France 1998.
Scotland go into the fixture high on confidence: undefeated in eight matches stretching back more than a calendar year and top of their Nations League group following three consecutive victories over the Czech Republic, who they have beaten home and away, and Slovakia.
Steve Clarke’s side will be without the usual support of the travelling Scotland supporters, but will know they have the backing of a nation to end a wait that has gone on for too long.
Steve Clarke has a near fully fit squad for the trip to Serbia, with the returning Craig Gordon (pictured) and Leigh Griffiths among the 27-man squad named last week however since then, the manager has lost both Ryan Fraser and Grant Hanley to injury.
Assistant coach Steven Reid is under no illusions of how big a task Serbia will be in the Play-Off final.
Speaking to the media ahead of one of the biggest matches in recent history for the national team, Reid said: “We’re going in to this now with a group of players that have played more and more football. In the last camp we still had to deal with some players in pre-season and others perhaps still getting up to match tempo, but by now the lads have played a lot of games and the squad is looking strong.
“We have a squad that is more than capable of getting a result that’s for sure. Obviously the motivation and prize up for grabs at the end of it on Thursday will hopefully take us to another level of performance.
“It’s important the lads step out on to the pitch, grasp it with both hands and leave the pitch with no regrets.”
When asked about the challenges of COVID-19 and the impact it has had on Serbia’s squad, the assistant coach insisted it will not distract the coaches, staff and players from their preparations.
He said: “It’s not going to affect us too much. They have a style of play, a formation and a way of playing that will mean we’ll prepare for their strongest team no matter what happens between now and the game.”
The match will be shown for free live on Sky Pick, kicking off at 7:45pm.
Fans can also receive live updates via the official @ScotlandNT Twitter account.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
