IT has been obvious for months now that Scotland’s meeting with Ukraine in the Qatar 2022 play-off semi-final would, if it went ahead at all, be no ordinary game.
But just how unusual the Path A encounter at Hampden tonight is set to be has certainly been driven home in recent days.
Al Jazeera, beIN Sports, Bild, CNN, ESPN, L’Equipe, NBC, The New York Times, Reuters, Sports Illustrated and The Washington Post will all be covering the match – the first competitive fixture the visitors have played since the Russian invasion back in February – this evening.
It has become an event of global significance, not just a mere sporting occasion.
Graeme Souness, one of this nation’s all-time football greats, also came out at the weekend and admitted that he will be cheering on the opposition after kick-off.
However, Steve Clarke has remained firmly focused on leading his side through to Qatar in November throughout the disrupted build-up.
He is confident that all of his players will be able to block out the background noise, extend their eight game unbeaten run and progress to the final against Wales in Cardiff on Sunday.
“They want to give their country a lift, which is absolutely 100 per cent understandable,” he said. “But we want to go to the World Cup as well. We want to give our country a lift.
“It’s very difficult to do, but you have to separate the situation that the Ukrainians find themselves in and the context of a football match. It’s a football match and that’s what we concentrate on.”
Clarke can appreciate exactly why his old Scotland team mate Souness, who donned the dark blue jersey in three consecutive World Cup finals during his international career, will be rooting for Ukraine.
But he knows that nobody in his camp will have any qualms about triumphing in a game that was originally due to have taken place in March. He also believes the visitors will want them to disregard the unique circumstances and treat it like any other match.
“I understand,” he said when asked about Souness’s comments. “Everybody is going to have their own opinion on the situation. Everyone is going to feel different about the situation.
“But I want to go to the World Cup in Qatar I have been quite clear about that from the start. This is another step on the road. My staff are desperate to go. But the most important part for me is that our players want to represent their country in Qatar at a World Cup finals.
“I have to be honest, I haven’t really felt that we are at fault somehow. I’ve never felt that was a narrative. Obviously, we are not at fault in any way whatsoever.
“For us it is a game of football and for the Ukrainian boys it will be the same. It’s a game of football and both teams want to go to the World Cup finals.
“We always said we would be guided by the Ukrainians and how they felt about the situation and what they wanted from the situation. What they want is that their football team can come out of the country, prepare properly as they have for the last four weeks, and be ready for a football match.”
The Ukrainian footballers who play professionally in their homeland have taken part in three friendly matches against Borussia Monchengladbach, Empoli and Rejika this month.
Clarke fully expects them to perform to the level they did when they reached the Euro 2020 quarter-finals last summer despite the ongoing conflict.
“I would imagine their preparation will have been as close to spot on as they can get it,” he said. “Obviously the boys based in Ukraine haven’t played competitive football since they had their winter shutdown. But they last played competition international football in November, like ourselves.
“They probably looked at their four week training camp as pre-season. It can get them up to speed. Pretty much most people are ready for a game of football after four weeks. They’ve now got the European-based players that have joined them. They will be ready to go, don’t worry.”
Clarke’s own preparations have hardly been ideal; Andy Robertson played in the Champions League final with Liverpool on Saturday and Scott McKenna turned out for Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off final on Sunday. Both men joined up with the Scotland squad late on.
On top of that, Kieran Tierney, the Arsenal left back, has been ruled out by a knee injury, while Nathan Patterson, the Everton right back who was a revelation in the Qatar 2022 qualifying campaign, has failed to recover from an ankle operation in time to be considered for selection.
“The staggered preparation for me has been different,” said Clarke. “It has been a challenge for me and my coaching staff to make sure everyone reaches the game in the right condition. But I feel we are in a good place. There will be no excuses from us.
“We have had two boys involved in football at the weekend and big Scott comes here really happy. Andy comes a little bit more disappointed. But as our captain and senior player he wants to make sure the next game ends on a happy note.”
Clarke looks set to persevere with his three man defence despite the absence of Tierney – who was moved to left centre half to accommodate both him and Robertson in the starting line-up – and Patterson. He will bring either Liam Cooper or McKenna in to replace the former and Stephen O’Donnell, Aaron Hickey or Anthony Ralston in for the latter.
“I think the game is too big for that (changing formation),” he said. “It is what it is. It would obviously be really difficult now to change the system. It would be difficult, but it wouldn’t be impossible because I think I’m a good coach and I have intelligent players and if we had to go with a back four we could go with a back four no problem. But I also feel that we have the tools to play.”
If Scotland can perform at the same level as they did in their last competitive outing against Denmark at Hampden back in November they can overcome the emotion of the evening and go through to the Qatar 2022 play-off final regardless of how Ukraine play.
