Scotland boss Steve Clarke reveals the ’emotional’ conversation that saw him end Craig Gordon’s Euro 2024 dream

STEVE CLARKE last night lifted the lid on the emotional conversations he had with both Craig Gordon and John Souttar after the shattered pair were left out of his final Scotland squad for Euro 2024.

Hearts veteran Gordon earned his 75th cap in the final 20 minutes of a 2-2 draw against Finland and received a rousing ovation from the Tartan Army after opting to play despite hearing hours earlier that he had been left out from the 26-man selection that will fly to Germany tomorrow.

Clarke had to submit his final list of names to UEFA at midnight last night and also had a difficult conversation with Rangers defender Souttar.

Scotland had claimed a two-goal lead in Hampden’s final warm-up match through an Arttu Hoskonen own goal and Lawrence Shankland’s 33rd goal of the season. Gordon’s first act, however, was to pick the ball out of the net with 18 minutes to play.

The 41-year-old goalkeeper’s hopes of a fairytale farewell ended when he was subsequently awarded the penalty that gave Finland the equalizer for Oliver Antman in the 85th minute.

“It was a very difficult decision to let Craig out,” Clarke said. ‘But in the period that he has been back, he has not become the number 1 at Hearts anymore. He has only played seven games since December 2022 and that is a long time.

‘And the dynamics of the team, three goalkeepers (we’ve had) together.

‘It was a tough conversation, with Craig. Emotional, to be honest. But it’s a sign of the man that he’s here tonight.

‘I understand if he doesn’t want that. But I wanted to give him the 75th cap. Within an hour of telling him the news, he was having dinner with the boys during the meetings.

‘At the end of the game we gave him a little award signed by all the boys, 75 on the back of his jersey. I said I know Craig is going to throw this in my face: that 76, 77, 80 is coming. That’s how Craig is.’

With seven centre-backs in his provisional squad of 28, Souttar was the unlucky second player to miss the ball.

“Emotional too,” the manager added. “It is very difficult for people who have not been with us to know how difficult it is to sit around the table with people who have always done their best for their country when I have selected them. They got so close to the margin.”

Clarke decided not to risk midfielder Scott McTominay, who last played in Manchester United’s FA Cup final. Striker Che Adams was also wrapped in cotton wool.

Scotland last won a friendly on home soil in March 2016 and head to Germany with one win from their last nine games; a difficult 2-0 victory over Gibraltar on Monday.

Now winless in four consecutive games at Hampden, which is the longest run without a home win since November 2008.

Nevertheless, Clarke said: “I’m really happy, the team is in a good place.

‘We know what we have in our group. The series of matches and the difficult friendlies are chosen so that players understand how difficult it is against top teams and how good they will be at this tournament.

‘When you get ahead, you think about Sunday, traveling to Germany. Look at the result in England, these games are difficult.’

Debutant striker Tommy Conway was denied his first goal for Scotland in the third minute of extra time by a brilliant save from Viljami Sinisalo.

“He should have scored,” Clarke said. ‘But he showed that he can get into goalscoring positions.

‘He told me he’s saving goals for Germany, so that’s fine.

“Lewis (Morgan) came back from a long flight from America on Thursday and he looked good, he looked lively when he came in. They are good additions to the team.

“When you lose players that you selected initially you always think about what you can do to make the team better and I think both boys have come in and done well for us.”

Meanwhile, Conway spoke of his family pride after making his debut from the bench. The Taunton-born Bristol City striker, who was brought into the squad following injuries to Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak, is eligible for the Scots through his late grandfather.

“It’s surreal, it hasn’t really sunk in yet, I probably won’t sleep tonight,” Conway said. “I know my grandpa will look proud and I had my family here too.

“Overall it’s a very proud day. I don’t think there is anything better in football than making your family proud and playing on the international stage for your country is the pinnacle.

“So to do that and make my debut, it’s a very proud day in every way.”

Conway came close to a debut goal when a late effort forced a fine save from substitute Finnish keeper Sinisalo.

He added: “I thought it was going to be a split second, I hit the goalkeeper and a few guys told me I should have scored.

‘I told them: I’ll save them for next week! That’s the dream. I will be ready when I am called upon and hopefully I will put myself in the best possible position to get on the scoresheet.”

Finnish coach Markku Kanerva gave the Scots a tip to hold out in a group with host country Germany, Switzerland and Hungary.

‘They have a very close group, with Germany as their home country probably the favorite to win the group. Hungary and Switzerland are having a hard time.

‘But Scotland has shown that it can compete with top teams like Spain. I think they have good chances in the group.

‘We knew we were up against a difficult opponent. Scotland showed its strengths. They are very strong in duels.

‘I am very proud of my players. They showed a great mentality to come back from 2-0 down.”