QUALIFYING for a major tournament with two games to spare back in October was a decidedly unusual experience for Scotland’s longsuffering supporters.

Hell, before Steve Clarke took charge of the national team four-and-a-half years ago, just making it through to either a European Championship or World Cup finals had become a distant memory for Tartan Army footsoldiers.

The new generation of Tam-O’Shanter-wearing, Tennent’s Lager-swilling, Doh-A-Deer-singing bampots who follow their country far and wide had never savoured the unbridled joy of their heroes securing a place alongside the elite of either the continent or the planet.

That, though, was then this is now. Clarke and his charges ended an agonising 23 year barren run back in 2020 when they beat Serbia on penalties in the Euro 2020 play-off final in Belgrade. Since then, they have moved up to an even higher level.

Clarke, the former Newcastle United, Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool assistant and West Bromwich Albion, Reading and Kilmarnock manager, has proved himself to be an astute, single-minded and, despite his famously lugubrious demeanour, inspirational coach.

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Angus Gunn, Ryan Porteous, Jack Hendry, Grant Hanley, Scott McKenna, Andy Robertson, Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey, Nathan Patterson, Callum McGregor, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson, Scott McTominay, Kenny McLean, Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams have blossomed into formidable international performers under his expert eye.

Five consecutive Group A wins over Cyprus, Spain, Norway, Georgia and Cyprus this year effectively sewed up their spot at the Euros. When section leaders Spain overcame Norway in Oslo it was all over. It is little wonder hopes are so high as supporters count down the days until Germany in June. We have never had it so good.

But it is to be hoped that fans enjoy another decidedly unusual experience when the draw is made at the Elbphilharmonie here in Hamburg this evening – and the boys in dark blue are placed in a group which gives them a chance of progressing to the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.

The Herald: Scotland’s record at tournament finals is, not to put too fine a point on it, lamentable. They have failed to go through to the latter stages at the three European Championships and nine World Cups they have been involved in. That has been often down to their own failure to perform. But frequently it has just been because they found themselves in, drum roll, “The Group of Death”.  

Euro 2020 was a case in point. They were charged with the task of playing the Czech Republic at Hampden, England at Wembley and Russia 2018 finalists Croatia in Glasgow. The ground out a famous 0-0 draw against the Auld Enemy in London. But their other two opponents proved to be far too good and they finished bottom. It was, alas, an all too familiar tale.  

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The chances are very high indeed they will find themselves pitted against some frightening foes tonight. Whoever comes out of Pot 1 (which comprises hosts Germany, Portugal, France, Spain, Belgium and England) will be world-class. 

Pot 2 (Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Denmark, Albania and Austria) doesn’t look quite so scary at first glance. Indeed, all of them appear eminently beatable. The latter three have all been overcome, and overcome comfortably, in competitive fixtures in recent seasons. Bring them on!

But wait. A look at their track record in qualifying underlines that none of them will be pushovers. Turkey beat Croatia away and topped Group D, Albania thrashed the Czechs 3-0 at home en route to winning Group E and Hungary and Romania were undefeated in Group E and Group respectively.

There are not many minnows in Pot 4 (Italy, Serbia, Switzerland and the winners of the three play-off finals) either. Poland, Wales, Finland, Israel, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Georgia, Greece and Kazakhstan are all still hopeful of qualifying. There are no easy games in international football.

Scotland have successfully rid themselves of their plucky losers tag under Clarke at long last. No longer are they the sort of team who perform well against all the odds only to slip up at the death and get condescendingly patted on the head and applauded off the park for their valiant efforts.

But it would be not at all unlike us to get an absolute stinker of a group tonight. Germany, Denmark and Italy anyone? Or France, Turkey and Poland? It does not bear thinking about.

Nobody here will be celebrating this evening if they get pitched in with Scotland. Clarke’s men have shown they can compete with anyone. Still, the defeats which John McGinn and Co suffered at the hands of England, Spain and France this season showed that, as well as they have done, there remains a huge gulf in standard with the biggest and best countries in the world.

Clarke needs to get all of his key men back fit and to build up some much-needed momentum in the four friendly matches they will have next year before they board their flight to the Fatherland. However, even if Gunn, Hanley, Robertson and Tierney are in good form and his team have a few wins under their belts, it will be far from straightforward. Nobody said Euro 2024 was going to be easy. 

The Herald: