Scotland's 6 big Euros posers after Germany disaster: Gilmour issue, the 155-minute man and Adams v Shankland
Stick to your Gunn
Speak to any Norwich City supporter and they'll wax lyrical about Angus Gunn, who many believe was the best goalkeeper in the English Championship last term. His performance, however, for the Canaries in their pressure-cooker end-of-season play-off semi-final clash against Leeds United did not inspire much confidence in the Scotland support, with Gunn at fault for the opening two goals. This - apparently - was an aberration rather than the norm.
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Hide AdClearly Steve Clarke's No 1 choice in goal, Gunn did not have a great night in Munich either, conceding plenty in the 5-1 defeat. Not helped by futile resistance from those in front of him, the big question mark comes for Florian Wirtz's opening goal on 11 minutes. Should he have saved it? Probably. The shot was cleanly-struck but it was not in the corner. Many Scotland fans immediately asked the poser: would Craig Gordon have done better?
Such a thought-process is unnecessary. Gordon is back home, the 41-year-old deemed not sharp enough to be ahead of Gunn, Hearts team-mate Zander Clark or Liam Kelly. His brief cameos for the Jambos in 2024 were not awe-inspiring either. Gunn is Scotland's No 1 goalkeeper, and the job of Clarke and his goalkeeping coach Chris Woods is to make sure his confidence has not been dented by what happened against Germany. He will be needed against Switzerland and Hungary, of that there is little doubt.
Getting problem area right
Right-back has been a buzz position for Scotland for some weeks now, ever since it emerged that Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson would miss the tournament.
Such a twist of fate now looks incredibly cruel on Clarke and his coaching team. Prior to his hamstring tear, Hickey had been excellent for Scotland and his club Brentford in the English Premier League, with Arsenal and Chelsea linked with the ex-Hearts man. Patterson may not be Sean Dyche's top defender at Everton but like Hickey, he plays in the EPL and was just starting to get more chances before his own hamstring issue.
Who plays there is now a serious problem for Scotland. Anthony Ralston was given a torrid time of things against Germany, but what is to be expected of the Celtic man when he does not play often enough for his club? Ralston has only played 155 minutes of competitive football since the start of March. Thrown him in against the calibre of German forwards and no wonder he struggled.
Scotland now must decide whether Bristol City's Ross McCrorie, who won his first cap against Gibraltar earlier this month, is a better option. Currently at Bristol City in the second tier of English football, the former Aberdeen man has been a regular since January. He is sharper than Ralston, and that has to come into Clarke's thinking as he prepares the team for Switzerland on Wednesday.
Who replaces Porteous?
One man who definitely won't play against the Swiss is Ryan Porteous. His reckless lunge on Ilkay Gundogan was rightly penalised with a red card. Given the nod over Grant Hanley in Scotland's back-three, Clarke can rightly feel let down by the Watford centre-half's callous act. He was lucky not to do Gundogan serious injury. At Hibs, Porteous was a player who defended to the very limit, often aggressively. It appears that trait has not been worked out of him at Vicarage Road.
Hanley came on for his 51st cap in the second half against Germany and tried manfully to keep the score down. The 32-year-old is only just back from an Achilles injury, yet he is the most likely replacement for Porteous given his experience. He is one of Clarke's self-confessed lieutenants. Scott McKenna and Liam Cooper are other options, although both predominantly left-sided.
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Hide AdHappy Gilmour
Clarke has come under some heat for not starting Billy Gilmour against Germany. Ryan Christie was preferred to him in midfield but this call is hard to question severely. Gilmour does his best work when his team sees more of the ball. It did not take Albert Einstein to work out that Scotland would spend a lot of time out of possession against a team of Germany's calibre. Plus, Christie played well in the warm-up matches and had an excellent season at Bournemouth. Including him made sense.
Now it's different. Scotland will need to be more proactive in their next two matches. Finding room for Gilmour is important as Scotland need a deep-lying playmaker with excellent ball retention and passing abilities to get them on the the front foot. The question is: who misses out?
Christie may be at risk, although Celtic captain Callum McGregor was hardly at his best in Bavaria. It seems inconceivable that midfield goal threats Scott McTominay and John McGinn will be benched, so if Clarke sticks with a 3-6-1 set-up, then he needs to make a big call in the strongest area of his team.
Adams v Shankland
Poor Che Adams had a really tough gig in Munich. He was starved of service and bullied by Germany's hulking defensive duo of Antonio Rudiger and Jonathan Tah. Lawrence Shankland is the only other experience international striker in the group and given his 31-goal Hearts season, many want him to start.
Pairing Adams and Shankland together in Cologne against the Swiss feels unlikely. It would also be unfair to jettison Adams, whose all-round game is probably superior to Shankland's, on the back of the Germany game. The Southampton hitman deserves another chance, assuming he is fully fit. He came off at half time in Munich.
Going out on a wing
Playing James Forrest and Lewis Morgan would require a complete tactical reshuffle. Clarke bristles at the talk of him not playing wingers - but it's largely true in this Scotland team. He has the option to switch it up but would that leave Scotland too exposed against the Swiss? He is likely to go with the tried and trusted back-three system once more.
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