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Just over 23 years ago, Scotland were preparing for the 1998 World Cup in France, the last time the men’s national team reached a major tournament. Now in a new era, Scotland are back in the big time.
Heroes of a past generation such as Jim Leighton, Colin Hendry and John Collins were about to take on the world’s best.
Scotland used friendlies against Denmark, Finland, Columbia and the USA to add any finishing touches to Craig Brown’s so-called Dad’s Army (due to the older age of the squad at the time).
The success of the friendlies was limited, with Scotland failing to win a game.
Fixtures against Denmark and Finland took place at both Ibrox and Easter Road.
The Danes edged the first game 1-0 thanks to a goal from Brian Laudrup, while in the second friendly, Finland held the hosts to a 1-1 draw. Jonatan Johansson scored ten minutes in, but Darren Jackson equalised five minutes later to save Scotland’s blushes.
Scotland then travelled to America in May to face Columbia at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey. The iconic Carlos Valderrama got La Tricolor off the mark with a 22nd-minute penalty, but goals from John Collins and George Burley gave Scotland a first-half lead. Freddy Rincon levelled the scores for Columbia in the 79th minute to salvage a draw.
The final warm-up game came against the USA, which ended in a 0-0 draw.
Steve Clarke will be hoping that Scotland’s two warm-up games against the Netherlands and Luxembourg will be more successful.
The Scotland Squad:
Steve Clarke named his Scotland squad for the upcoming European Championships on the 19th of May and is as follows:
The 26 players picked to represent Scotland at UEFA #EURO2020. pic.twitter.com/uV5epmAEJc
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) May 19, 2021
There were some surprises, with the in-form Portuguese based Ryan Gauld, Celtic’s Leigh Griffiths, Lawrence Shankland and Andy Considine missing out. St Johnstone’s cup double-winning hero’s in Shaun Rooney and Zander Clark also didn’t make the cut, despite a remarkable season.
Many of the Tartan Army are delighted to see the promising trio of David Turnbull, Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson in the squad. Clarke has also blended in John Fleck, Grant Hanely and Liam Cooper to add wiser heads to a younger group of players.
John Fleck will miss out on the friendly against the Netherlands after testing positive for COVID-19 at Scotland’s training camp in Alicante.
The Netherlands squad:
?? ??? ????. ?#WeTheWave #EURO2020 | @INGnl@Rijkswaterstaat | #FortSintPieter | @GemeenteEde | @Rijksmuseum pic.twitter.com/THoioD3jJ4
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje) May 26, 2021
Both pundits and fans alike in the Netherlands believe this is one of the weakest squads for a long time.
The absence of Virgil Van Dijk leaves a gaping hole in the defence, while there is general bewilderment that Sven Botman, who starred for a title-winning Lille side, was not included.
Frank De Boer surprisingly named Daley Blind in his 26 man squad, despite the Ajax defender having ankle issues. Jasper Cillessen won’t be available for the match and has been ruled out of the tournament after testing positive for Covid-19.
Marco Bizot of AZ Alkmaar will replace him.
Holland had not qualified for a major tournament since 2014, but the team have seemingly struggled since players such as Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie retired. Hopes are not high for any success at Euro 2020.
Last time out:
The last fixture between these two nations was an international friendly in November 2017 and took place at Pittodrie in Aberdeen. Holland triumphed with a 1-0 win due to Memphis Depay’s 40th-minute tap-in.
Scotland had troubled early on, with Matt Phillips’ pace and strength causing Van Dijk difficulty. Phillips came close on two occasions, but heroic defending from Nathan Ake and Van Dijk prevented the Aylesbury born forward from opening the scores.
A swift break combining Depay, Gini Wijnaldum and Ryan Babel saw the former Liverpool attacker send a precise cross for Depay to convert with ease.
Shots from range by John McGinn and Callum McGregor, as well as an excellent Ryan Fraser solo burst, was the closest that the hosts came to a goal.
Despite a narrow defeat in the granite city, Scotland showed promise for the future. Malky MacKay managed the team on a caretaker basis before Alex McLeish was appointed in February 2018. McLeish was sacked in April 2019, leading to the appointment of Steve Clarke in May that year.
Head to Head:
Scotland and the Netherlands have faced each other 19 times, with six Scotland wins, nine Dutch wins and four games drawn.
Both sides had comprehensive wins in their last games, with Holland destroying Gibraltar 7-0 in the Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, while Scotland beat the Faroe Islands 4-0 at Hampden Park.
Magic moments between Scotland and the Netherlands:
Archie Gemmill scored arguably the best goal the tartan army had even seen at at World Cup in Argentina back in 1978.
Scotland needed to win by three clear goals to qualify from the group stages, and the diminutive Gemmill displayed a piece of sheer brilliance to put Scotland 3-1 up. However, a Johnny Rep strike three minutes later quashed any Scottish hope.
ON THIS DAY | At the 1978 World Cup, Archie Gemmill scored one of the greatest goals in Scotland's history as we beat the Netherlands 3-2.
⚽ Rensenbrink (Pen) 34
⚽ Dalglish 44
⚽ Gemmill (Pen) 46
⚽ Gemmill 68
⚽ Rep 71➡️ https://t.co/5SDwnguL4Tpic.twitter.com/bVyZUH54sf
— Scottish FA (@ScottishFA) June 11, 2018
James McFadden was another player to display wizardry against the Dutch. He gave Scotland a 1-0 lead in a playoff match to reach Euro 2004 when he collected the clearance from his corner kick, exchanged a clever one-two with Darren Fletcher and fired into the top corner.
⏪ #OnThisDay in 2003, James McFadden scored the goal as we beat the Netherlands 1-0 at Hampden. pic.twitter.com/kGBFIJeSHV
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 15, 2019
In the second leg, Scotland were annihilated by a teenage Wesley Sneijder. The tricky midfielder scored the opener and then assisted three of the goals as Ruud van Nistelrooy racked up a hattrick in a 6-0 win.
The main thing for Clarke and De Boer is to get through the game without injuries and possibly experiment before the European Championships this month. It is unlikely that a moment of quality comparable to Mcfadden and Gemmill’s will occur.
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