Scotland: Steve Clarke looks forward to World Cup and more attacking threat

Scotland reached their second consecutive European Championship in style, qualifying with two games remaining and finishing second to eventual champions Spain.

However, Clarke’s team were outplayed by Germany in the opening match and lost to Hungary in the last minute, dashing their hopes of a first place finish in the knockout stages.

“The players and myself are probably more disappointed than anyone because we felt we had a chance to write a better history for the country,” he said.

“We didn’t do that. But now you have to bounce back, you have to show our resilience and move on.”

On the prospect of Scotland reaching the World Cup for the first time since 1998, Clarke added: “You know me, I’m always confident.

“When you say we are the 24th best team in the league this summer and only 16 European teams go to the World Cup, that is a big ask. I believe we can do it. That is why I am here.”

Clarke continued by reflecting on the European Championship and the areas for improvement, explaining: “We need to be more creative and try to create more chances, but we also need to maintain a solid defence. As a team, we don’t score many goals, we realise that.

“In the qualifiers we were very clinical with the chances we had. In the tournament, when we had the chances to score, we were maybe not as clinical.

“We didn’t shoot in time and we didn’t show the composure to finish the ball and shoot on goal.”