Scotland seeks to achieve a historic milestone in the Euro 2024

The Scotland national team is receiving significant media attention for their ambitions in the UEFA European Championship (Euro 2024).

Under coach Steve Clarke, the team aims to progress beyond the group stage for the first time in a major tournament. This will be Scotland's fourth appearance in the Euros, after unsuccessful attempts in 1992, 1996, and 2020.

To achieve this goal, Scotland must secure at least one win in their group, which includes tournament hosts Germany, Switzerland, and Hungary.

Only eight teams will exit the tournament in the first round out of 24 teams; the top two from each group, along with the four best third-placed teams from the six groups, will advance to the round of 16.

Scotland has had a series of negative results against major teams such as France, England, Spain, and the Netherlands. However, a loss to Northern Ireland last March raised questions about Clarke and his players' ambitions.

Clarke has named a preliminary squad of 28 players, including several returning from injury or who have not been playing regularly for their clubs.

The squad includes notable names like Scott McTominay, John McGinn, Andy Robertson, Callum McGregor, and Kieran Tierney. However, the team suffered a setback with striker Lyndon Dykes getting injured during training, ruling him out of the tournament.

Clarke will rely on forwards Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland for the striker position in the squad, which will be reduced to 26 players after the final friendly match against Finland next Friday.

Scotland faces a problem on the right flank after excluding the injured trio: Everton's Nathan Patterson, Brentford's Aaron Hickey, and Bologna's Lewis Ferguson. Although Anthony Ralston is available, he is not a regular starter for Celtic.

To address this issue, Bristol City's right-back Ross McCrorie and Celtic winger James Forrest, who returns to the Scotland squad for the first time in three years after participating in the last Euros, have been included.

Norwich City's Angus Gunn is expected to be the starting goalkeeper, competing with veteran Craig Gordon, his Hearts teammate Zander Clark, and Liam Kelly, unless Clarke decides to include all four goalkeepers in the final squad.

Clarke is known for his loyalty to his players, explaining his decision to call up midfielder Ryan Jack, who left Rangers and hasn't played since March 7, and Southampton's Stuart Armstrong, who has been out since being substituted in a 2-1 loss to Cardiff in April.

The squad also includes Norwich defender Grant Hanley, who has been plagued by injuries throughout the season, and John Souttar, who missed Rangers' last three games of the season.

Ben Doak, an 18-year-old Liverpool winger, has been called up to the senior Scotland squad for the first time, despite spending most of 2024 recovering from a knee injury sustained in December.

Clarke is optimistic about Doak's fitness and confidence, so he might include him in the final squad traveling to Germany, where Scotland will face Germany in the opening match on June 14.