What’s next for Scotland after World Cup heartbreak


Failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar came as a huge disappointment for Scotland. Steve Clarke’s side were tremendous in their qualifying group yet fell to Ukraine in the play off semi final. 

In fairness, the Scots probably didn’t deserve to win the match itself as their wait for an appearance at a World Cup finals was prolonged.  


Now that the dust has settled, I’ll be examining what’s next for the national team in the coming weeks and months after a gut wrenching ninety minutes on Wednesday. 


After Scotland played out all of their games in World Cup qualification Group F, they were drawn into UEFA Nations League Group B1 along with the Republic of Ireland, Armenia and rather ironically, Ukraine. 


The Nations League was brought in by European football’s governing body to bring a competitive edge to international football when traditional qualifiers are not taking place. The competition has aided Scotland in the past - particularly in 2018 as a side managed by Alex McLeish finished top of a group consisting of Israel and Albania. This triumph aided the national team in securing the safety net of play off for Euro 2020 before the group qualifying campaign even begun for the tournament, a backup which served the Scots well. 


Before the forthcoming nations league campaign begins for Scotland they face will reportedly face Austria on Sunday. It was previously arranged the losers of the Wales v Austria and Scotland v Ukraine semi finals would take on each other in a friendly to account for the gap in schedule for the final they aren’t in.  


Steve Clarke’s side are back in competitive action, though, next Wednesday evening as they host Armenia in the Nations League. This is proceeded by a trip to Dublin to take on Ireland on the Saturday night and the final game of the summer internationals sees the Scots play Armenia yet again, this time away from home, the following Tuesday. 


Crucial points are up for grabs in this trio of matches and it is three games Steve Clarke will be targeting nine from. 


When Scotland return to action in the first international break of the 2022/23 season, they will conclude their nations league campaign. Similar to their first three fixtures in the group, a game against Ireland is sandwiched in between a double header, this time with Ukraine. 


As alluded to earlier, Scotland’s success in the 2018 Nations League helped them seal a Euro 2020 play off. However, UEFA is yet to confirm how potential Euro 2024 qualification could link to the current instalment of the Nations League. 


In spite of this uncertainty, Scotland should still be treating these matches seriously as the chance to potentially secure a play off for the next Euros before the qualifying campaign for it even begins is one that should not be passed up. 


All in all, there is still a lot to play for in the current international break for Scotland after the heartbreak inflicted by the Ukrainians. 


For some members on the fringes of Steve Clarke’s squad who were called up such as David Turnbull and Ross Stewart, it is the perfect chance to rack up some minutes for the Scotland senior team in games that actually mean something. 


Moreover, the upcoming Nations League is the ideal opportunity for Scotland to get back on form and build up confidence again after the agony caused by the play off with Ukraine. 


Thank you for reading. If you have any thoughts or opinions, leave a comment below. You can also get in touch with me on Twitter @Joshmcc_05 where likes, re-Tweets and follows are all greatly appreciated. 

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