Scotland kick off their UEFA EURO 2024 campaign in the showpiece opener against tournament hosts Germany tonight.
Scotland’s injury-related issues in the build-up to the Euros have been well documented.
Squad regulars Aaron Hickey, Jacob Brown, Lewis Ferguson and Nathan Patterson were all ruled out of Clarke’s provisional squad, while there was heartbreak for both Lyndon Dykes and up-and-coming talent Ben Doak – who were ruled out of contention after training last week.
Fortunately, everyone named in the final squad is fit and raring to go.
Steve Clarke and his players have been working hard all week at their remote Garmisch-Partenkirchen training base, with everything planned to precision in preparation for a game that will capture the attention of the football world.
Andy Robertson is fresh from creating his own bit of Scotland national team history – becoming the most capped captain after pulling on the armband for the 49th time in the 2-2 draw with Finland.
Clarke and Robertson spoke to the media at the Munich Football Arena, after a quick look at the pristine pitch.
Clarke said: “We’ve waited a long time to be here. It seems like a long time since qualification in October. The lads are ready. I’m ready. So, we can look forward to a good game.
“The occasion will be for everybody else. For both sets of coaching staff and players, it’s about the game. It’s about how the game pans out.
“Germany will want to win. We want to win. Everyone else can enjoy the occasion.
“Play well, make sure you get some points to take to the next game. Three would be good. One would be okay.
“We’ve prepared. We’ve waited a long time to be ready for this. We’ve worked in preparation and hopefully you’ll see the results of that on the pitch.
“We’re all professional. We want to do well for our country, and we’re determined to put on a good show for the next few matches.”
Robertson added: “It feels like we’ve waited a long time for this day to come. Now we just have one more sleep. Now the real stuff’s about to begin.
“We feel the excitement. We know all our families and all the Tartan Army are now landing in Munich and are ready to get behind us. We know the support back home will be there as well, so it’s just a feeling of excitement now.
“It’s an amazing game to be involved in. If you think back to being a week boy and all the games you want to be involved in, this would be right up there.
“Everyone’s excited for what can happen, but we’ve obviously got a job to do, and we have to focus on that.
“We have to believe we can get a result in any game we play. We’ve always worked like that, and we believe we can trouble any team if we’re at it, but we also know Germany are a big threat.
“They’re a fantastic team with a history of winning trophies. They’re on home soil and there will be big pressure on them to do well in this tournament.
“We know how difficult it’s going to be but, if we’re at our best, we can give anyone a game.
“Hopefully we show up at 100 per cent. If we do that, it gives us the best possible chance.
“We know what’s at stake. We’ve got a lot of incentive to do well, but one is becoming that legendary squad that qualifies for the knockout stages.”
It’s an 8pm kick-off back home in Scotland and the match is being screened live on ITV, STV and on STV Player,
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.
