LET’S BELIEVE IN OURSELVES

Scotland must adopt the mindset that beat Denmark for Ukraine tie, says McFadden

THERE was a time when the eyes of the planet were on the Scotland national team. On June 10, 1998, at 5.30pm, an estimated one billion viewers tuned in to see Craig Brown’s side open the World Cup in the Stade de France against holders Brazil.

On the pitch were global superstars including Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo and an exciting 21-year-old striker called Ronaldo.

In the stands among the 80,000 fans in Paris Saint-Denis were comedian Billy Connolly and rock singer Rod Stewart.

After a narrow 2-1 defeat to Brazil, however, a 1-1 draw with Norway and a painful 3-0 loss to Morocco saw the plug pulled on Scotland’s World Cup dreams.

The lights were out on our campaign but little did anyone know at the time they would remain off for the next 24 years.

However, on the back of steering Scotland to Euro 2020 last summer, Steve Clarke has the national team sparkling again.

Winning six competitive matches in a row, his side secured a World Cup semi-final play-off with war-torn Ukraine next Wednesday for the right to meet Wales in the final in Cardiff four days later.

For James McFadden, the way Scotland performed in the 2-0 win against Denmark in November to rubber-stamp their play-off place was proof of a team that can not just qualify for Qatar 2022 but light up the tournament if they get there.

‘I’m the biggest believer in Scotland,’ said former national team talisman McFadden. ‘Denmark went into the Euros as dark horses because they’ve got good individuals who play together as a team and they’ve got a bit of belief. Why can’t that be Scotland? People may laugh and say I’m deluded but why not?

‘Without a doubt, we’ve got top-class players in our squad. We’ve now got players who might be on the bench but they are English Premier League players or winning titles or fighting for European trophies. The end of the World Cup qualifying campaign was brilliant. We beat a Denmark side that had not lost a game and had only conceded one goal.

‘They were a strong side — but we were better than them. And we didn’t beat them by sitting in and defending. It was no smash-andgrab against a bigger side. We played the way we wanted to play against a top-10 nation.

‘People may say Denmark had nothing to play for but they wanted to finish the group with ten wins out of ten. They were Euro 2020 semi-finalists but we took the game to them and we controlled it.

‘We were brilliant. That was a moment where you think: “This is a different way of playing for Scotland. We are good. We’ve got good players. We are in a good place”. Are we going to win the next 10 games? That’s a tough ask but why can’t we win the next game — no matter who it is against?’

McFadden has watched in admiration as Clarke took over as Scotland boss in 2019 then set about solving problems like finding the best formation to fit Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney into the same team. Tierney is currently injured but Clarke will stick with three at the back given its success in building up momentum and confidence in the squad.

‘It’s been a long work in progress by Steve,’ said 48-times capped McFadden. ‘But he has been sensational. ‘He came in for stick at the start due to questions over the formation and the style. People said Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson could not play in the same team. Then people were surprised at us playing a back three. But Steve has built something that is really strong. People have their belief back. We have a style we can take to other teams. Nobody wants to play against Scotland now.

‘Steve understands the demands of the players but he also gets the players to understand what he wants. We’ve got a really good group of players within an atmosphere that people want to turn up — and that’s not easy.

‘He’s also got a group of players who believe in each other. There’s guys like Andy Robertson, who was chasing a quadruple this season with Liverpool, alongside guys who are fighting against relegation from the Scottish Premiership. But there is no divide. They are all in it together. Having that harmony is key.’

McFadden knows all about featuring in a play-off for Scotland. He famously scored the only goal of the game against the Netherlands at Hampden in 2003 before Berti Vogts’ men lost 6-0 in Amsterdam as the Dutch reached Euro 2004.

He recalls that day being his first real experience of the fabled Hampden Roar. The Roar has returned in recent Mount Florida victories over Israel and the hope is it will help fuel Scotland’s passage to the play-off final in Cardiff.

Asked about his memories of the 2003 play-offs, McFadden laughed: ‘Were there two games against the Netherlands?

‘I remember it was a hope rather than an expectation that we would qualify but the support was there.

‘I speak about the Hampden Roar constantly but that day against Holland was the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in.

‘During my time at international level we had good players and a club spirit but for one reason or another we never qualified. Getting to the Euros last year was special for Scotland but the worry was we let that be the end of the journey.

‘But the players, manager and staff have shown that getting to the Euros and coming up short was not the defining moment for this Scotland side. We want to be back at the World Cup.’