Lyndon Dykes is ready to lead from the front if required in Scotland’s crucial clash with Morocco on Friday night.
After returning to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years, the Scots began their Group C campaign with a 1-0 win over Haiti, with the 30-year-old Dykes coming off the bench in the second half of a tough encounter.
Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland started as a twin strike-force in Foxborough, but Steve Clarke may consider a change of personnel and tactics against the Africa Cup of Nations champions, who drew 1-1 with Brazil in their own opening fixture.
Speaking at Scotland’s training base in Charlotte, North Carolina, the former Queen of the South, Livingston and QPR striker said: “I’m always ready. I always give my best. I wear my heart on my sleeve and always do my best for my team.
“So yeah, I’m always ready; it’s up to the manager what he decides best for the team on the day. But I’m ready for whatever that is, starting on the bench or whatever my role is, and I’m sure the other boys in the camp are as well.
“[we are] Confident. It’s going to be a difficult game, like every game in this tournament. But the camp is in high spirits, looking forward to it; we need to take every game as it comes and I think we need to embrace them as well.
“They’re going to be difficult games but I believe in my team and myself and I’m sure everyone else does as well.”
Dykes admits he is enjoying the World Cup experience even more after missing Euro 2024 through an ankle injury as he revealed his sympathy for midfielder Billy Gilmour, whose knee injury sustained in the warm-up game against Curacao at Hampden ended his World Cup hopes.
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“It’s a World Cup,” said Dykes. “It’s a dream for everyone who plays football, but obviously the last tournament was a disappointment, and I was a little bit in the same shoes as Billy Gilmour.
“I kind of know how he feels with missing out on this tournament because it’s a tough one to take. In the long run, it just makes you who you are, and it makes you grow as a person.
"You take everything in, and you want to enjoy it and have special memories.”
Australia-born Dykes, who qualifies for Scotland through his parents, who are from Dumfries, admits the World Cup is a long way from the day he arrived in Scotland in 2016 to start a senior professional career with Queen of the South. “I would have never dreamed, even to be in this situation,” he said.
“Obviously, growing up in Australia, playing all different sports and coming into professional football late, which was luckily through Queen of the South and Scotland, gave me that chance to be where I am.
"I’ll be forever grateful, and all my family back in Dumfries are all proud, and yeah, I would never have thought I would be in this situation.
"Yes, it’s a dream come true.”
Meanwhile, centre-back Scott McKenna returned to training after missing the win over Haiti with a calf injury, meaning Clarke now has a full complement of players for the second group game.
