With a place at the 2024 European Championship all but assured, the mood surrounding Scotland’s national team is currently as bright as the unusual September sunshine.
Yet a stunning showreel from the southern Spanish city of Jaen on Monday evening suggested the future could be even more dazzling.
At just 17 years old, Ben Doak was the undisputed star of the show at the Estadio de la Victoria as Scotland Under-21s narrowly lost 1-0 in a European Championship qualifier.
In his first competitive start at this level, the Liverpool lad’s trickery, pace and inventiveness were hailed as ‘exceptional’ by head coach Scot Gemmill.
For Doak, the performance was just the final stage on an exciting football journey that could take him anywhere he wants to go.
Ben Doak was the undisputed star as Scotland U21 narrowly lost 1-0 to Spain on Monday
He will have high hopes of joining Steve Clarke’s squad for the 2024 Euros, should Scotland qualify
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And after being named in Liverpool’s Europa League squad for their upcoming group campaign, trips to LASK Linz, Union Saint-Gilloise and Toulouse could play a key role in guiding Doak to another continental destination: the Euro final 2024 in Germany with Steve Clarke’s Scotland.
In January 2022, Celtic made his debut at the age of 16 years, two months and 19 days, with his Old Firm bow arriving a month later.
After leaving for Liverpool for £600,000, a goal seven minutes into his Scotland Under-21 debut from the bench against Northern Ireland last November made him the youngest-ever goalscorer at that level.
It broke a record held by Billy Gilmour, whose rapid progression to the full national team Doak now hopes to emulate.
At Anfield, Doak impressed with the Under-18s and Under-21s before making his first-team debut last November; introduced for the final 16 minutes of a Carabao Cup penalty shootout victory against Derby County, two days before his 17th birthday.
Four more appearances for the first team followed from the bench last season; two in the English Premier League and two in the FA Cup.
Jurgen Klopp has described Doak, who joined Liverpool from Celtic in 2022, as a ‘special boy’
The teenager from Liverpool draws a comparison with his fellow countryman Billy Gilmour (photo)
Doak also excelled in pre-season against Leicester City and Bayern Munich, and manager Jurgen Klopp is clearly a big fan of his emerging Scottish striker.
“Ben is a special boy, very confident,” the German boss said earlier this year. ‘He has something that no one else can really do, this kind of dribbling, this kind of straightforward courage. All this stuff.”
There are certainly clear parallels between Doak and Gilmour, who also possessed a talent that quickly prevented Scottish football from retaining him when he left Rangers for Chelsea in 2017.
At Stamford Bridge, however, Gilmour was also an example of how difficult it can be to establish yourself in the upper reaches of the English Premier League, even though he now plays regularly for Brighton and Scotland.
Doak, born in Dalry, has played just 13 minutes for Liverpool this season, coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. And while praising his teenage talent on Monday night, Gemmill admitted Doak was not match fit due to limited minutes at his club.
Doak is training hard alongside Liverpool star Mohamed Salah ahead of the international break
Still, the hope is that the young Scot could capitalize on Liverpool’s failure to secure Champions League football by finishing fifth last season. Instead of facing the continent’s elite forces, Anfield will play in the Europa League in Group E alongside Austria’s LASK, Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise and France’s Toulouse.
They may not represent the most glamorous opponents, but given Klopp’s faith in Doak, the tournament provides the perfect stage for the teenager to shine.
Due to the nature of his generational talent, Doak’s move to the full Scotland national team is inevitable one day. But after being brilliant for Scotland Under-21s and catching the eye off the bench for Liverpool, the hope among the Tartan Army in the coming months is that this hugely exciting forward, who turns 18 in November, can take the next step in his career to make. .
By making his mark in Europe with Liverpool in the coming months, Doak can book his place in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for the 2024 European Championship.