Two games into Euro 2024 qualifying and Scotland are already on the cusp of an impressive achievement. Victory in Norway this weekend, and the Tartan Army will be planning a rendezvous in Deutschland next summer.<\/p>\n
Scotland sits proudly on top of Group A<\/a> after two games. Spain were left flummoxed<\/a> by a fiery Hampden Park in March, while Norway were held in Georgia. Realistically, the fight for the two automatic qualification spots is between the Scots, Spanish and Norwegians.<\/p>\n There is a natural assumption that Spain will win the group, and Scotland will compete with Norway for second. The Scots enjoy a five-point advantage over the Scandinavians, and in an eight-game shootout, that is already a sizeable lead.<\/p>\n He is unlikely to admit it publically, but Steve Clarke<\/a> would not be disappointed by a draw in Oslo. It would enable Scotland to maintain momentum and stay in control. Clarke is a pragmatic boss, defensive discipline and solidity define his style, but even he may be seduced by the value of hunting three points.<\/p>\n The prize dangling for Scotland<\/a> is considerable. Victory on Saturday evening will give them an eight-point lead over Norway with five games left. It would surely be an insurmountable advantage, but straightforwardness is not often associated with Scotland. Glorious failures <\/a>and disappointment have become ingrained in the nation’s psyche, and a trouble-free meander toward a second major tournament in 26 years feels like an improbable scenario.<\/p>\n The fact Scotland have an opportunity to dismiss the Norwegian challenge is due to the hard work of the manager. Clarke has forged a club-like team spirit, and the cloud of gloom that engulfed the national team<\/a> for so long has evaporated. It has allowed the Tartan Army to reconnect with the players again.<\/p>\n How to deny the rampaging Erling Haaland will have consumed Clarke’s thoughts. Suggesting the centre-forward suffers from prolonged hangovers is perhaps one way for Clarke to encourage his Scotland defenders, but devising a plan to blunt the prolific marksman, who has netted 21 goals from 23 international appearances, is far from straightforward.<\/p>\n Clarke is unlikely to deviate too much from the starting XI that upset Rodri and co in March. Grant Hanley’s absence<\/a> at the heart of the defence is a blow, but Jack Hendry is a willing option. Beyond that, there will not be much variation. John McGinn and Ryan Christie will be tasked with ensuring Lyndon Dykes avoids isolation.<\/p>\n Scotland entered the pitch for the first group game against Cyprus<\/a> aware they had secured a play-off spot for Euro 2024 due to their Nations League performance. Such a safety net is a source of comfort, and the players have perhaps played with greater freedom with this knowledge.<\/p>\n There is a second chance waiting if needed. It would be typical for the backup option to be required, but Scotland, for once, may spring a surprise and avoid the scenic route.<\/p>\n Photo credit: Tom Hodgkinson<\/a>, CC BY 2.0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Two games into Euro 2024 qualifying and Scotland are already on the cusp of an impressive achievement. Victory in Norway this weekend, and the Tartan Army will be planning a rendezvous in Deutschland next summer. Scotland in Reach of Qualifying for Euro 2024 Blistering Start Scotland sits proudly on top of Group A after two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":624489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[161],"tags":[478,31848],"class_list":["post-624473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-football","tag-scotland","tag-uefa-euro-2024"],"modified_by":"Joseph Howes, Site Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Two From Three<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Oslo Calling<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Prize for Victory<\/strong><\/h3>\n
United Again<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Haaland Factor<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Same Again<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Backup Option<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Fighting Against History<\/strong><\/h3>\n