Scotland’s wait to return to the World Cup is almost over, with little over 24 hours standing between them and their opening game against Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning.
The first time the national team will compete in the World Cup since 1998, Steve Clarke is hoping to become the first manager in Scottish football history to lead the team to the knockout stages of a major tournament. Can he do it?
Already confirming his place in the Scotland hall of fame after becoming the first Scotland national team boss to lead the team to three tournaments - Euro 2020, Euro 2024 and this summer’s World Cup - he’ll arguably be viewed as the greatest to ever manage Scotland if he can lead them into the latter stages of the competition.
However, how does his record compare to those who came before him? In total, they’ve been nine managers who have led Scotland into 12 major tournaments.
Here, we rank every Scotland manager who has taken the team to a European Championship or World Cup, ranked on their major tournament record:
9. Steve Clarke
The only man to have led Scotland to three major tournaments, he may rank near the bottom of this list but Clarke has a real opportunity to become Scotland's most successful tournament boss this summer. In charge of the side for Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, his current tournament record is as follows: P6, W0, D2, L4, GD -9. His win ratio stands at 0% heading into the World Cup - something he'll be desperate to change. | SNS Group / SFA Photo: SNS Group / SFA