MAIL SPORT COMMENT: Steve Clarke's reputation is on the line against Swiss ... his Scotland team can't turn in the same dross again
- Defeat is simply unthinkable for Scots as they face Switzerland after embarrassing 5-1 hammering by Germany
- Boss Clarke needs to see a marked improvement from his players after their no-show in the Allianz Arena
- Scotland manager's standing will be defined by his team's performance against Swiss side already riding high after Hungary win
There is at least one positive omen for Scotland as minds turn from the horror show in Munich and towards what lies in wait in Cologne on Wednesday.
The last victory for the national team at a major tournament happened to come against none other than Switzerland.
Ally McCoist’s screamer at Villa Park arrived in the last group game of Euro ‘96. Had it not been for David Seaman letting in Patrick Kluivert’s tame shot 120 miles down the M40 at Wembley, McCoist’s goal that night would have been historic, too.
Some 28 years and seven games on, the wait for a victory on the big stage rolls on to the banks of the Rhine in the west of Germany.
After the unmitigated disaster that was the 5-1 loss to the hosts, the second game in Group A finds Steve Clarke’s side unable to countenance the possibility of defeat. While it wouldn’t arithmetically end their hopes of qualification there and then, the game would effectively be up after just six days.
With Germany strong favourites to beat Hungary on the same day, a draw for Clarke’s men in the RheinEnergieStadion would be no disaster. If the Magyars could be beaten in Stuttgart on Sunday, four points would be enough to see Scotland progress as one of the best third-placed teams.
Clarke needs to coax a huge improvement from Scotland against Swiss
The Scotland manager's reputation will be on the line in Cologne on Wednesday
National coaching staff chat with Clarke ahead of showdown with Switzerland
That theory is all very well. The reality is that Scotland won’t take a single point from either of their remaining matches unless there’s a marked improvement on the embarrassing no-show we witnessed in the Allianz Arena.
No one could possibly dispute that Clarke has done a fine job since taking charge in 2019 following Alex McLeish’s sacking.
There was a brutal run of four defeats in a row to Belgium and Russia in European qualifiers, but the green shoots of improvement were soon to be seen.
The night Serbia were beaten on penalties in their own backyard to end a 23-year wait for a major finals will never be forgotten. It’s a pity our efforts to then qualify from a section containing the Czechs, England and Croatia were not quite as memorable.
Clarke’s men were richly deserving of their place in the World Cup play-off and were unfortunate to be pitted against a Ukraine side with a cause like no other to play for.
They made amends for losing out on Qatar in quite spectacular fashion by qualifying for Euro 2024 with something to spare.
As commendable as that achievement was, though, there is only so much praise due for getting there.
Given the last Euros were such a novel experience for all concerned, some allowance could be made for the way it all unravelled. But not this time.
The expectation that the side would at least compete in every game was not unreasonable. The belief that sufficient points could be gathered to finally break through the glass ceiling and into the knock-out stages was not the stuff of fantasy, either.
Northern Ireland and the Republic made it out of their group in 2016. Wales got to the last four that year and made the last 16 in 2020.
Although he’s not been helped by injuries, Clarke can still call upon players from Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Celtic.
On their day, they have shown they can beat Spain. To fail to impress themselves upon two opponents of similar ability now would be inexcusable.
After a tetchy post-match press conference last Friday in which the manager bristled at a legitimate question about his verbal spat with Austin MacPhee, it was at least comforting to hear him speak more contritely on Sunday.
Offering ‘no excuses’ and acknowledging that ‘we were the problem’, with the players possibly ‘overloaded with information’, the 60-year-old at least took ownership of the situation.
Scotland squad are put through their paces as they prepare for vital second group game
Clarke has already admitted that both he and his team let the nation down against Germany
Scotland boss Clarke on the training ground as countdown continues to Cologne clash
He can only hope it has the desired effect. Turn in the same dross against the Swiss and the reputation of the players on the international stage will be scuffed. As ever, the manager’s standing will be defined by it.
The scattergun of criticism Clarke to which Clarke was subjected last Friday was largely merited. However, there were some things that he could hardly be blamed for.
Angus Gunn has performed admirably for Scotland since joining the set-up last year. He simply had an awful night - and was culpable as Florian Wirtz and Emre Can scored the first and fifth goals.
The fact remains that no one was calling for Zander Clark, Liam Kelly or Craig Gordon to replace him before a ball was kicked.
Anthony Ralston’s story of perseverance is inspiring, but the blunt fact is he’s Celtic’s second choice right-back. He only started in Munich because Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson were injured. He gave his all, but he was truly no match for the magnificent Wirtz.
In the final warm-up match against Finland, Grant Hanley looked like a player who’d only played eight games for Norwich in the Championship last season.
Ryan Porteous played 40 times for Watford. So, his inclusion against Germany made sense.
The claim that his woeful challenge on Ilkay Gundogan was ‘typical’ would have held water in the defender’s Hibs days.
Yet, it’s worth noting that Porteous’ last red card came in a green jersey against Aberdeen over two years ago. His disciplinary record since moving to England has been good and hardly suggested he was a walking liability.
The issue on the night was less about personnel and formation and more about mindset. Seven months in the making, it just looked as if everyone in dark blue was mentally ill-prepared for that task. That’s on the manager.
The exclusion of Billy Gilmour was the one big call that did raise eyebrows before kick-off.
Given that his finest display for his country came at Wembley three years ago after being left out against the Czechs, Clarke’s apparent lack of trust in him was perplexing.
The Brighton man admittedly does not have great legs but takes care of the ball better than anyone else in the squad.
While it would be preposterous to suggest that his inclusion would have made any appreciable difference to the outcome, you suspect Scotland *would* have been able to control the match for at least a spell.
You’d be surprised if Gilmour isn’t asked to sit deep beside Callum McGregor on Wednesday with Scott McTominay pushed up beside John McGinn in support of Che Adams.
Hanley will come in for the suspended Porteous, but the team is likely to be similar to the one which opened the tournament. Clarke can only hope the performance is completely unrecognisable.
