CRAIG Gordon believes Scotland will have to get the better of the best goalkeeper in world football today if they are to win their final Russia 2018 qualifier against Slovenia tonight and secure a play-off spot.
Srecko Katanec’s side have an impressive defensive record at home in in this World Cup campaign – they didn’t concede a single goal in their four Group F matches against Slovakia, England, Malta and Lithuania.
Gordon feels Jan Oblak, the Atletico Madrid player, is a huge part of the reason they have been so difficult to beat in Ljubljana and knows that his team-mates will have to be on top of their games up front to beat him.
The 24-year-old cost €16 million when they bought him from Benfica three years ago making him the most expensive goalkeeper in La Liga history.
However, Gordon, along with Atletico and France striker Antoine Griezmann, believes he is well worth the outlay.
“He’s one of the best,” he said. “We’ve seen some of his saves in this campaign and he’s a fantastic goalkeeper and one we’ll need to do really well to beat. But that’s a good challenge. It’s great to play against the best keepers in the world and he’s definitely one of them.
“Is he the best keeper in the world? That’s a valid claim. He’s definitely up there. He’s playing at the top end of European football, challenging for honours in Spain and Europe, he’s definitely up there.”
“They are well organised. They haven’t scored as many goals as they would have liked in the campaign, but certainly they don’t need to if they are keeping things out at the back. That is where we have tightened up in the last few games and we have given ourselves a good base to try and win games because we haven’t conceded.
“They are quite similar in that respect. It is going to be a tight game. We are going to have to break them down and they don’t lose many goals here but we are ready for it and really excited.”
Meanwhile, Gordon, the Celtic goalkeeper who won his 50th cap in the 1-0 win over Slovakia at Hampden on Thursday night, has admitted this could be his last opportunity to go to a World Cup and is determined to do all he can to help Scotland qualify.
“Getting to a major finals is the one thing I still want to achieve,” he said. “We have an opportunity to do that and there might not be too many more. Let’s hope we can take this opportunity and go out there and play like it is everybody’s last chance. Let’s hope we can go and do it.
“You never know if the chance might come again. We have not been to a finals since 1998 and we’ve had a couple of small opportunities since then to make it happen. Italy at home in 2007 and the Czech Republic at home in 2011 was also a big moment in that campaign.
“There have been moments when things have gone against us but we are in a good run of form at the moment. We hope we can carry that into the last game. We don’t know if we could have picked a much more difficult one away from home.
“They are very good at home and don’t concede many. It is still a big challenge but we are coming into it in the best way possible, on the back of five games undefeated.
“I’ll try to go as long as I can, 2022 as well maybe. What would I be then? Forty? Qatar is still possible, don’t worry about that.”
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