Steve Clarke's Scotland holy grail is in sight - but Greece clash could be tenure defining
The Scotland manager is reaching a pivotal moment in his six year reign as Hampden boss.
When Scotland take to the field in this Thursday’s vital World Cup qualifying clash against Greece at Hampden Park, it will be exactly 27 years, three months, and 16 days since they last played on the global stage.
As the cliché goes, a week is a long time in football. However, for Scotland boss Steve Clarke, the next 24 hours could present the 62-year-old and his squad with an opportunity of a lifetime. During his six-year reign as the national team coach, this is one of their biggest matches.
With a mammoth Hampden double-header to come this week, and a big six points to aim for, Scotland’s chance to end their near three-decade World Cup exile has seldom felt as doable as it does now. One of the shortest qualification stages in recent memory at just 74 days, maximum points from their next two games would likely place them in pole position to claim one of the top two spots in Group C and put rivals Greece on a very sticky wicket, taking a step closer to next summer’s tournament in the USA, Canada, and Mexico ahead of the final group games next month.
Arguably their biggest game at Hampden for some years, Thursday’s meeting with Greece presents an opportunity to put space between them and their visitors, who will face a tough trip to Denmark in the days after their visit to Glasgow. At the same time, Clarke’s side entertain the group’s bottom team, Belarus.
Scotland’s 0-0 draw with group favourites Denmark in Copenhagen, followed by the 2-0 win over Belarus, in their opening two qualifying games last month, means Clarke has clear sight of how the national team can reach their holy grail. A triumph over Greece on Thursday would move them even closer to it.
While some lingering complaints remain about Clarke, the feeling around the national team has changed for the better during his tenure. Injecting ambition into the squad he inherited six years ago, back-to-back qualifications for the European Championships ended a 23-year exile from major tournaments. The chance to lead his side out at the World Cup has, so far, evaded him, though.
Major wins over the likes of Spain, Norway, and Denmark took the headlines, but it is his ability to navigate past ‘banana skin-esque’ opponents that has proven to be his real success. While the memorable wins over France and Italy at the turn of the Millennium are part of Scottish football folklore, they are diluted by soul-crushing results against the likes of Georgia and Lithuania.
Let’s not even mention the humiliating 3-0 loss to Kazakhstan three months prior to Clarke’s appointment. If you ever need a reminder of where Scotland were when he took the role, ‘highlights’ of that night in Astana will certainly do the trick. Under the former Kilmarnock boss, those sorts of tests have largely been navigated with minimal fuss.
The fans have followed, too. Prior to his appointment, the average crowd for Scotland’s home games in 2018 stood at a paltry 19,578. Half full, those fans in attendance were driven almost mad by scepticism. Those fans who dragged themselves to the national stadium did it out of duty, not in confidence. Hampden often desolate, two Leigh Griffiths free-kicks against England may have famously shook the foundations of the 122-year-old stadium in 2017, but that sunny afternoon in Mount Florida was an exception, rather than the rule, back then. Scotland lacked belief. Hope was but a prison.
Fast forward to 2025, and the national stadium’s average attendance for last year stands at 46,334. Under Clarke, there’s a renewed belief that Scotland has a team to be proud of, a side full of character and quality that can make major tournaments consistently. With Ballon d’Or nominee Scott McTominay at the forefront, fans have largely packed out the national stadium in recent years. Scotland fans now know and understand why they believe. There is real reason for faith.
Steve Clarke’s holy grail moment
Clarke has been here before, though, and the World Cup semi-final play-off clash with Ukraine back in the summer of 2022, which they lost 3-1, still rankles. The opportunity to change the outlook of Scottish football for a generation of fans must be grasped with both hands this week. A near three-decade banishment from the world stage remains Scotland’s longest omission from the tournament in their history. An absence felt so deeply, it almost tickles the skeleton of the national game.
Should Scotland fail to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, and extend their heartbreak beyond the 30-year mark, his legacy is in danger of being clouded by what-ifs. Humbled by their Greek opponents on Hampden soil just seven months ago, the 3-0 Nations League playoff defeat is still fresh in the memory of Scotland fans, and plays on the mind ahead of Thursday’s clash.
That said, Scotland have game-changers in their dressing room. The aforementioned McTominay is likely to be joined in a well-stocked midfield by a rejuvenated John McGinn, fresh off the back of leading Aston Villa’s comeback from a disappointing start to the new English Premier League campaign.
Ben Gannon-Doak got bums off seats at Middlesbrough last season and is part of a successful Bournemouth squad flying high in the EPL after his £25 million summer move. The 19-year-old has style, but plenty of substance to boot, as evidenced by his eight assists in his last 26 appearances. Che Adams has four goals in his last three international games, and Lyndon Dykes seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch with numerous late goals at Birmingham City.
Vanquishing Greece and then Belarus will put Scotland firmly in the picture for the World Cup. These are the next two hurdles as Clarke bids to cement his place as one of the most successful managers in the nation’s history. There is so much up for grabs this week.
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