Hibs reduced to one World Cup player - but will he actually play?
Hanley flies Easter Road flag and dependable defender should get minutes
At one point, Hibs had four players set to be involved in the World Cup.
As it is, veteran Scotland defender Grant Hanley is the only one flying the flag for the Easter Road club.
Rocky Bushiri was called into the DR Congo squad, but the centre-half’s tournament was cruelly cut short by an Achilles injury sustained in Hibs’ final Premiership match of the season against Motherwell. Forwards Ante Suto and Martin Boyle travelled to Florida for Australia’s training camp, but both failed to make the final cut. Boyle’s exclusion was particularly painful.
Hanley’s participation was also thrown into a little bit of doubt when he came off injured against Motherwell, but the Hibs centre-half’s knee issue was only minor. He is currently over in the States preparing for Saturday’s final warm-up match against Bolivia in New Jersey.
At 34-years-old, Hanley is the oldest outfield player in the Scotland squad, just ahead of midfielder Kenny McLean. He is a mainstay of head coach Steve Clarke’s squad, capped 67 times. He has been entrenched in the camp regardless of whether he has been a regular starter for Norwich City, Birmingham City of Hibs.
In short, Clarke likes Hanley. A lot. He splits opinion within the Tartan Army ranks, but there was little surprise when he was included in the final World Cup squad.
Hanley’s move has paid off
Hanley made the move to Hibs - his first foray into Scottish club football - last summer to enhance his Scotland credentials. He knew that he needed to be playing regular football in order to maintain his status as a Scotland starter. A few months on, his place in the starting XI is far from certain.
Clarke has given himself five natural centre-halves to choose from at the World Cup. As well as Hanley, the head coach has Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), John Souttar (Rangers), Dom Hyam (Wrexham) and Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb). He is spoilt for choice, with Celtic’s Kieran Tierney also able to operate on the left of a back-three.
Ever dependable, Hanley was a late call-up to start for Scotland in that 4-2 win over Denmark after Souttar got injured in the warm-up. The only matches he wasn’t involved in during the qualification campaign were the two against Belarus - which may be a clue as to when Hanley is deployed during the World Cup.
When Scotland are up against it, when they are sitting deep and defending from the front, Hanley tends to excel. He is an aggressive, rugged centre-half who is sound positionally and good in one-on-one duels, especially in the air. He is the sort of defender you want against Morocco, who will be physical.
The onus is on Scotland to attack against Haiti in their World Cup opener a week on Saturday. With that in mind, Clarke may choose to go with two centre-halves who are (a) quicker and (b) more assured distributors of the ball. McKenna feels nailed-on to start on the left side; Hendry and Souttar hold the whip hand on the right.
Nevertheless, Hanley is set to play a part at this World Cup. He is not in the Scotland camp to make up the numbers.
Hibs will have hoped to have more representatives - and in return more cash from FIFA payments - but Hanley is likely to become the first Easter Road player since John Blackley in 1974 to represent Scotland on the global stage.