Steve Clarke has named his Scotland squad for the October internationals with Craig Gordon making a dramatic return.
Meanwhile Nicky Devlin and Liam Lindsay have been drafted in to fill defensive gaps – while West Ham’s Andy Irving also earns a first call-up. The boss is looking for some positive results to reinspire the nation after a dreadful run of one win in 14 games. Performances improved for the first two Nations League clashes with Poland and Portugal but a pair of late defeats have left morale on the floor.
It doesn’t get much easier with Croatia away to come on Saturday October October 12 before the Portuguese visit Hampden three days later. Clarke‘s selection has been hampered by injury with Kieran Tierney and Scott McKenna among the notable absentees while Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson’s continued problems mean a dearth of natural options at right-back.
But he’s called upon Aberdeen’s Devlin to compete with Anthony Ralston in that position – with Max Johnston likely to link up with the U21s ahead of their crucial qualifiers. Lennon Miller and Josh Doig are expected to join him in a strong youth side, with qualification for the U21 championships on the line in their clashes with Belgium and Kazakhstan.
Ben Doak has however remained with the senior squad, while former Hearts midfielder Irving is called upon after breaking into the West Ham team in recent weeks.
Scotland squad in full
Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn, Jon McCracken
Defenders: Nicky Devlin, Grant Hanley, Liam Lindsay, Ryan Porteous, Anthony Ralston, Andy Robertson, John Souttar, Greg Taylor
Midfielders: Ryan Christie, Ben Doak, James Forrest, Ryan Gauld, Billy Gilmour, Andy Irving, Kenny McLean, Scott McTominay
Forwards: Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, Lawrence Shankland, Lewis Morgan
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