Hearts man is the answer for Scotland as World Cup destiny is decided
Greece and Denmark ties will decide fate for USA, Canada and Mexico
Two games which could potentially send Scotland directly to a World Cup for the first time in 28 years. A draw in Greece and a win over Denmark will secure history for national coach Steve Clarke and his players with a place at next summer’s finals. The situation requires people unflappable under pressure. It also needs an experienced and capable goalkeeper with Scotland’s first choice, Angus Gunn, injured.
Clarke faces one of the biggest decisions of his Scotland managerial career when choosing who plays in goal in these two World Cup qualifiers. He is known for favouring trusted lieutenants. In fact, he is criticised for doing so too often, but in this instance he would be wise to select a tried and tested member of the squad. This is no time for messing about or experimenting. France 98 was nearly three decades ago, after all, and the wait for the national team to return to the greatest show on Earth has been excruciating.
Craig Gordon’s nous at international level marks him out as Gunn’s most likely deputy. He is the calm and knowledgeable figure who has thrived in so many high-octane Scotland international fixtures. He holds 81 caps, while his rivals for the goalkeeping slot are three-cap Scott Bain and one-cap Liam Kelly. Of the three, only Bain is playing regularly at club level with Falkirk. Kelly is second-choice at Rangers and Gordon is a Hearts substitute behind Alexander Schwolow after a summer of injuries. His last competitive match was 3 May. That issue shouldn’t be overlooked.
Lack of match practice for a goalkeeper in games of this magnitude is an undeniable problem Clarke could do without. Kelly has played only once for Rangers this season - against Alloa - so Scotland’s goalkeeping decision will essentially rest on whether Clarke feels 42-year-old Gordon’s vast experience is more important than 33-year-old Bain’s match sharpness. Bain’s last Scotland cap was six years ago. Gordon’s, crucially, was just seven months ago - against Greece.
The Hearts keeper was in goal for both legs of March’s Nations League play-off. He therefore has the benefit of knowing he kept a clean sheet against the same opponents in the same hostile venue - the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Piraeus - where Saturday’s match will take place. Scotland’s 1-0 win that night proved futile when the Greeks won the return leg 3-0 at Hampden Park. Nonetheless, Clarke regularly selects players who have been over the course before when it comes to the bigger games.
It would be a major surprise if he named anybody other than Gordon in goal to face the Greeks. The Hearts veteran stressed he is ready for the challenge. “Yeah, absolutely. That's the manager's call,” he told BBC Scotland. “I just go there and be the best that I can be and see what happens. I can just be myself, do what I normally do, train as well as I possibly can. It's an unfortunate situation that we're in at the moment where there's not many goalkeepers playing first-team football.
“We've played them [Greece] quite a few times recently and mixed results. They're a very good team, really good going forward with great, creative players. It's going to be a real tough one, regardless of whether they're already out or not. They've named nearly the same squad, so they're still going with the same players again.
Turning 43 next month, this will likely be Gordon’s last chance to represent Scotland in a major tournament. He was omitted from the European Championship squad last summer, which might add some extra fuel to help him get there this time. “To manage to go to a World Cup, it's everybody's dream,” he said. “There's quite a few guys approaching 30 or just over. So you're not going to get many more opportunities. This is a big one. We've managed to get to a couple of Euros in a row, so everybody's motivation for this couldn't possibly be higher.”