OK, so the friendly matches against Peru and Mexico weren’t exactly what anyone was relishing come the end of a long season, and the list of call-offs and players who were excused duty in the first place is indicative of that.
In fairness though, it’s not as if national team manager Alex McLeish would have chosen to take a fringe squad over to South America to play two quality sides with full squads to choose from - and places at the World Cup to play for - either. McLeish has had to play the cards he has been dealt, and although the deck has been stacked against him, he might just come out of this slog across the Atlantic ahead yet.
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I was struck by the positivity of McLeish after the game, and I think that whatever the merits behind the arguments about not going over there may have been, Scotland are there now, and we may as well try to make the most of it.
The result against Peru was perhaps predictable, but you could argue the performance was better than expected. In international football, as McLeish found previously to some success with Scotland, a lot depends on how tight you can keep it at the back, and there were really promising signs that the team looked well-drilled and superbly organised for the majority of the game.
Yes, the goals we lost were preventable, and I feel for goalkeeper Jordan Archer, who has had to wait a long time for his chance only to make two mistakes and cost his side a decent result. But with the greatest of respect, he will not be starting in the Nations League matches when they roll around in the autumn, and you can’t really see Allan McGregor or Craig Gordon making similar errors.
There is an argument that as many as seven or eight of the players who started the game against Peru won’t be on the teamsheet for that first fixture against Albania at Hampden in September. It was good for the likes of Lewis Stevenson, for instance, to get recognised and earn an international cap, but unfortunately for him he is in the wrong position. You may not be able to take too much from the individual performances because of that, but you can look at the shape of the team and get a feel for what we can come to expect from Scotland going forward.
Peru are 11th in the world and had over 500 caps in their squad. Our starting 11 had 59 caps, and 34 of them were Charlie Mulgrew’s, so we were up against it. There were three debutants between the back four and the goalkeeper, so I think that the way they set up was really creditable.
It gives me encouragement around what McLeish and his background staff can achieve with the full group of players, because it was obvious that the plan they put into place was carried out. So, the team performance and the fact they were all carrying out their jobs properly is a major positive.
The caveat to all of that of course is that Scotland failed to register a shot on target, so we have to see a lot more going forward.
The best chance of the match came when Lewis Morgan climbed off the bench, and he did himself no harm when he came on. Going from the Championship to playing the 11th best team in the world is a monumental jump, and he was probably the only player on the night who gave Scotland a wee spark and something a bit different. I’d like to see him start the next game.
It must be remembered too that our main established attacking threats, whether that be from Leigh Griffiths up front, Andy Robertson from the left or the likes of James Morrison in behind the frontman, were all missing. If McLeish can provide a solid base for these guys to shine, then it may well be a successful mix.
It is going to be a difficult night tomorrow for Scotland in Mexico City, with the heat and a 70,000-plus sell-out crowd to contend with, but it’s important that we don’t just turn up and get turned over. I thought we limited Peru as well as we could have, and I would expect that while the personnel may change, the structure will stay the same.
I don’t think you can look into these games with too critical an eye, and it is important to take as many positives as you can. A couple of shots on goal would be nice, of course, but if Alex McLeish can return from this trip with two or three players that can contribute to the cause of getting us to Euro 2020, then it might have been a worthwhile trip after all.
In-keeping with the theme of positivity, what a result that was for the Scotland under-21s on Wednesday night, beating host country France in the Toulon Tournament. There are a lot of decent players in Scot Gemmill’s side, and none more so than goalscorer and captain Oliver Burke. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in and around the senior squad when the competitive action gets underway once more.
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