Steve Clarke admits he had to have emotional conversations when leaving Craig Gordon and John Souttar out of Scotland’s Euro 2024 squad.
Gordon became the country’s oldest international when the 41-year-old goalkeeper came on during the final European Championship warm-up against Finland with the home side leading 2-0 at Hampden Park.
However, in his 75th appearance for Scotland, the Hearts keeper let in two goals – the second a penalty he conceded himself when he was penalised for a challenge on Tomas Galvez despite appearing to touch the ball first.
Souttar was one of two players absent from Clarke’s matchday squad and he too will miss out as the Scotland boss culled his squad to 26 ahead of the opener against host country Germany next Friday.
“It was a really tough decision to leave Craig out,” said Clarke, who took “no risk” with Scott McTominay or Che Adams who did not appear against Finland.
“When you think of the injury he had come back from, I just thought over the period of time that he had been back and hadn’t become the number one at Hearts again – he only had seven games since December 2022, a long time.
“Obviously you had the dynamic of the squad, the three goalkeepers had been involved in every qualification.
“It was a really tough conversation with Craig, it was quite emotional to be honest – for both of us.
“But the mark of the man is he was here tonight. At the end of the conversation I said ‘I understand if you don’t like me and don’t want to do this, but I would like to give you the 75th cap tomorrow in front of a good crowd’.
“I could have done it against Gibraltar (on Monday), but I wanted to do it here at Hampden and the mark of the man, an hour later he was down having dinner with the lads. A great professional.
“At the end of the game we gave him a little reward signed by all the lads, Gordon 75 on the back of his jersey, and as I was giving him it I said ‘I know Craig will throw this back in my face and say 76, 77, 78, 79, 80 are coming’.”
🏴 Following tonight''s match, we can now confirm Steve Clarke''s final 26-man squad that will represent Scotland at UEFA @EURO2024.#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/s8m0yDh993
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 7, 2024
Asked how Souttar took the news, Clarke said: “Also emotional. It is really difficult for you people to imagine how difficult it is to sit down with people who have always given their best for their country when I have selected them, to get so close.
“I think they understand how difficult it is for me and I really understand how difficult it is for them.”
The other absent player, Stuart Armstrong, is due to return to full training on Monday in Germany following a quad injury.
It looked like the Scots would head to Germany on a high after two Andy Robertson crosses led to an own goal by Finnish defender Arttu Hoskonen and a Lawrence Shankland header.
However, Benjamin Kallman reduced the deficit with a header in the 72nd minute before fellow substitute Oliver Antman levelled from the spot.
Debutant Tommy Conway came on and had a header saved in the final seconds, while New York Red Bulls’ Lewis Morgan won his third cap six years after his second.
Clarke said: “(Conway) should have scored but it shows that he does get in goalscoring positions. He just told me he is saving the goals for Germany so that’s fine.
“Lewis came over on a long flight from America yesterday and looked good when he came on, he looked lively. Good additions to the squad.”
Man United dealt major blow in Jean-Philippe Mateta pursuitMan United have reportedly been dealt a major blow in the race to sign Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta due to their lack of Champions League football.The 27-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Man United this summer, but their lack of European football could prove to be a significant stumbling block.Ruben AmorimR...
Zanetti speaks exclusively to FlashscoreAhead of the Champions League final against PSG this Saturday, Flashcore had the opportunity to speak exclusively to Inter Milan legend Javier Zanetti.How did you see this season and for what reasons do you think Inter reached the final?"I think it was a positive season, because I think we were competitive in all the competitions we played. We have the last ...
Inter Milan president Marotta highlights Oaktree support ahead of UCL finalInter Milan president Beppe Marotta has highlighted the support of owners Oaktree as they prepare for the Champions League final.Marotta insists the hedge fund has been supportive in their financial running of the club.He told the Athletic: "First of all, the owners have to have confidence in the management. If you have the...
Marcus Rashford Man Utd Barcelona 2025Barcelona are reluctant to match Manchester United's asking price for Marcus Rashford but are eager to sign the attacker this summer.WHAT HAPPENED?Rashford's hopes of securing a move to Barcelona this summer have taken a hit as the La Liga champions are not willing to meet United's €40 million (£34m/$44m) asking price, according to Sport. Their repo...
David de Gea Fiorentina 2025David de Gea is set to extend his stay at Fiorentina with a new contract which will run until 2028 after an impressive first season in Serie A.WHAT HAPPENED?Former Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea is set to extend his stay at Fiorentina with a new three-year contract after an excellent first season in Serie A, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. The 34-year-old helped...
Let's start our Daily Laugh today. Who would win this dream clash? Thoughts? BEST CAPTION WINS! Chelsea: Gotta catch em all B Fernandes stays or goes to Saudi Imposter from London Trust the process Admit it. We all did this when we were bored at school didn't we? Please stay tuned on Daily Laugh. There will be more fun tomorrow!(Credit: Justtoonit, AZRorganization, originaltrollfootball)...
Liverpool have reportedly made an improved second bid for the transfer of Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.According to David Ornstein of the Athletic, the Reds now look set to pay a staggering total package of around £109m for the Germany international.See below for the details from Ornstein, posting on his official page on X, who says the figure for Wirtz comprises of the...
Manchester United are reportedly ready to rival Liverpool, Arsenal and others for the potential transfer of Brighton star Yankuba Minteh, according to Stretty News.The talented 20-year-old has really caught the eye in the Premier League in recent times, and it seems inevitable that he’ll move to a bigger club at some point, as so many other of Brighton’s best players have in recent tim...
AC Milan have set a €130 million price-tag on Rafael Leao, with Bayern Munich exploring a possible move to pair the AC Milan forward with Harry Kane.Milan set a €130m price tag on Rafael LeaoPortuguese winger scored 12 goals last seasonBayern, Arsenal also monitoring the 25-year-oldWHAT HAPPENED?According to Corriere dello Sport, AC Milan have set a €130 million price tag on Port...
De Gea agrees long-term Fiorentina contractDavid de Gea is set to extend his stay at Fiorentina with a new contract which will run until 2028 after an impressive first season in Serie A.Inzaghi insists he's 'happy' at Inter despite talks with Al-HilalSimone Inzaghi claimed that he's "happy" at Inter despite reports of a €30 million (£25m/$34m) agreement with Al-Hilal."I've said several ...
- 1 Andy Carroll and Lou Teasdale look loved up
- 2 Gyokeres' words about joining Arsenal
- 3 Ronaldo appears to confirm Al-Nassr exit
- 4 Chloe Kelly stuns Arsenal fans as she heads straight to local PUB
- 5 Daily Laugh - Arsenal open talks with Sesko
- 6 Liverpool vs Crystal Palace Prediction 25 May 2025
- 7 Goodbye Jack Grealish?! Pep Guardiola axes Man City star from squad for crucial Fulham clash as transfer talk continues to swirl
- 8 Chelsea making progress over Caicedo deal
- 9 Bonnie Blue kicked out of PL stadium while performing x-rated gesture
- 10 Amorim promises revival after disaster