Craig Gordon has warned Scotland not to pull the blinkers down on Erling Haaland and forget to keep one eye on Norway’s other goal threats.
The Hearts keeper believes the Champions League-winning Manchester City striker can’t be allowed to become the central focus when talents such as Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard will also pose a threat for Steve Clarke’s side in Oslo on Saturday. It’s a European Championship qualifier against a team packed with quality and Gordon insists all provisions will be made to keep Haaland at bay but he’s also wary of the distraction of trying to tie down the blonde goal machine.
He said: “If we think too much about Haaland then Odegaard might stick one in. 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 keeper who will be thinking about that.
“The team will be 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 attack.”
Gordon is still aiming to add to the 74 caps he’s racked up for the dark blues during a remarkable career where he’s fought back from the adversity of serious injury and he’s currently on the road back from a broken leg.
Whether he’s able to reclaim No.1 spot for the national side remains to be seen but he’s given his full endorsement to Norwich City’s Angus Gunn who’s arrived on the international scene with two clean sheets in recent Euro ties against Cyprus and Spain.
He said: “It’s been a great start for him. 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 know the guys playing in front of him so it was an ideal start. Now we’ll need him for these next two games, away to Norway in a really tough fixture and then Georgia at home.
“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.”
Gunn’s impressive start to his Scotland career now faces a stern test as the 27-year-old is tasked with putting the shutters up against Haaland. Gordon admits his own record against superstar strikers was a mixed bag but he urged the Canaries shot-stopper to forget the big names in his attempt to put another opposition blank on the board.
He said: Lionel Messi and Cristiano 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 keeper 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 in 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.”
Scotland’s unblemished start to Group A will go on the line at the Ullevaal Stadion before facing Georgia at home next Tuesday.
But Gordon has fond memories of playing for his country in Oslo after being part of a dark blues side which won 2-1 back in 2005 with Kenny Miller grabbing a brace in a World Cup qualifier. The Norwegians had giant striker John Carew in their ranks that evening and the Tynecastle keeper had to be helped down memory lane to recall a game where everything went to plan.
He said: “Did I play in that? That’s a while ago, nearly 20 years ago, you are testing my memory there. I do remember it. They scored, so I’m not remembering that! We played very well that night. It was a campaign that we probably should have qualified from and ended up falling short.
“I do remember that game but I didn’t realise it’s the same stadium as we are going to play in again. Hopefully, the same again would be good. I remember Carew’s sheer size and he was quick as well – especially at the start of his career, maybe not so much at the end.
“He was a handful with any direct balls and at that time Norway were more of a direct team. That was what you had to deal with. That was always going to be tough but we dealt with it very well that night, it probably suited a Scottish style to come up against that. We actually passed the ball well that night and probably should have won more comfortably.”
Scotland could be without Rangers defender John Souttar against Norway after he picked up a knock but Gordon looked at the bigger picture for his old Hearts team-mate and insists the defender’s resurgence at the end of the season for the Light Blues after a lengthy injury absence is a lift for both his club and country.
He said: “I’m delighted for him as he’s been through some horrendous times. He’s still relatively young too, to have gone through as much as he has."
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