Angus Gunn backed to make the big saves as Scotland look to shut out Norway and Erling Haaland

Craig Gordon has backed his Scotland stand-in Angus Gunn to make the big saves required as Steve Clarke's side look to build on their promising start to Euro 2024 qualification.

Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn shut out both Cyprus and Spain and will now look to do likewise to Norway and Erling Haaland as he prepares to earn is third cap in Olso on Saturday. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Gunn was drafted into the squad for the first time in March – keeping a clean sheet in his debut against Cyprus and then again in the epic win over Spain – after Gordon, the established Scotland number one, suffered a double-leg break while playing for Hearts.

The Norwich City stopper faced only five shots across both matches but he can expect to be busier in the crucial upcoming fixture against Norway in Olso – with Champions League winner Erling Haaland spearheading the home attack – before Georgia visit Hampden next Tuesday.

“It’s been a great start for him," Gordon said. "He probably had a couple of fairly comfortable games which was nice for him to start with.

“When you’re going into a new team that’s exactly what you’re looking for. He’s still to bed in and get to the know the guys playing in front of him so it was an ideal start.

“Now I think we’ll need him for these next two games, away to Norway in a really tough fixture and then Georgia at home. I think we might need him to make some saves at some point. But it’s been a good start and hopefully he can continue that and take things from there.”

Shutting out Haaland – who bagged just the 58 goals for Manchester City in his first season in English football – will be crucial to Scotland's hopes, although his scoring rate did drop off towards the end of the season, netting just once in his last eight.

“If we think too much about Haaland then [Martin] Odegaard might stick one in!” Gordon warned. “Listen, we know Haaland is a threat. That will be brought up in the meetings with the management looking at where they usually score their goals from.

“The thing about him is that he can virtually score them from anywhere. He can hit long range shots, score headers as well as scoring tap-ins and rebounds as well. So we know he’s a threat from all over the pitch.

“It’s not just the goalkeeper who will be thinking about that. There will the team aligned on what they have to do to defend against him. Norway have other qualities too so the lads will need to be ready for however they play and whoever plays in their forward areas."

Safe to say, Gunn will not have faced a striker of Haaland's calibre in the English Championship in the season past. Gordon has yet to come up against the 22-year-old superstar but has experienced facing some of the world's top strikers.

"Messi and Ronaldo both scored against me when they were playing. I did keep two clean sheets against Thierry Henry right enough.

“My Scotland record of clean sheets is actually pretty good. But then every clean sheet is good for a goalkeeper no matter who you are playing against. It’s another one on the stats sheet as no-one really looks back on who was playing I’m the game. They just look at the numbers.

“So I don’t bother too much about who I’m playing against. It’s more about a team way of defending and trying to get a clean sheet.”