Manager wants youth to dream of playing for Scotland
Clarke uses missed chances as player to inspire team
Steve Clarke hopes Scotland’s long-awaited qualification for a men’s World Cup will inspire the country’s young footballers.
Against a backdrop of euphoric scenes at Hampden Park on Tuesday night, the Scots defeated Denmark 4-2 to seal a World Cup spot for the first time since 1998. Their manager was delighted to end that long wait, especially as he believes it has harmed the nation’s football development. “This should stimulate or motivate young players to go out and become Scotland internationals in the future,” said Clarke. “Hopefully there is a legacy from this group of players to the younger generations and we don’t wait so long to go to the next tournament and the next tournament.
“By the way, it is more difficult to qualify for the World Cup than it used to be. If you look at the stats, it is really difficult to qualify. It is incredible, even [versus] when the boys went to France ’98. There were 15 European teams in a 32-team tournament. That is almost 50%. But this one is 16 out of 48, almost a third. You see the World Cup getting bigger and you think: ‘It must be easier to get there.’ But it is not, it is more difficult to get there.”
