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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Ben Ramage

5 things we spotted at Scotland training as Billy Gilmour and Anthony Ralston push for starting spot

The eyes of the world will be on Hampden this Wednesday night as Scotland aim to take a huge step closer to returning to football's biggest showpiece.

To make it to next weekend's winner-takes-all World Cup play-off final clash in Cardiff, Steve Clarke 's men must first see off the challenge of Ukraine in Glasgow.

It's set to be yet another night of huge emotion and drama at Hampden, particularly given the visitors ongoing battle off the field with Russia.

They may be understrength and short of match sharpness, but Ukraine's players will be seriously fired up as they look to deliver a much-needed positive result for their supporters.

With the world backing Ukraine, Scotland will have to be the bad guys to keep their dream of returning to the World Cup for the first time since 1998 afloat.

Having got a taste for major tournament football at last year's European Championships, the Tartan Army would love to be packing their sunscreen and heading for Qatar this November.

Here's what we spotted at their Oriam training session this morning.

Ready for action

Billy Gilmour stretches during training (SNS Group)

He might have had a nightmare season in club colours, but Billy Gilmour has always brought his A-game to the party for Scotland.

Fears he might have missed this crunch clash were sparked when he missed Norwich's final Premier League game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur.

But the former Rangers prospect showed he's fighting fit and looks likely to reform Scotland's recently impressive midfield trio alongside Callum McGregor and John McGinn.

Eyeing up a starting spot

With Steve Clarke himself admitting that Everton full back Nathan Patterson is likely to miss out on Wednesday night, there's a big decision to be made about who fills in on the right flank.

Stephen O'Donnell isn't as attack-minded as the former Rangers youngster, but he has been rock solid for his country in massively important games before.

With Kieran Tierney already ruled out, there will be more of an emphasis on the full backs providing some offensive support though and that could see Anthony Ralston pick up his second cap.

While not as solid defensively, the 23-year-old has enjoyed a stunning season with title-winning Celtic and he could well find himself given the nod.

Hampden heartache behind him

(SNS Group)

Craig Gordon will be hoping his swift return to Hampden this Wednesday night leaves him with that winning feeling.

The Hearts stopper was on the losing side as the Jambos lost their Scottish Cup final clash with Rangers last weekend.

The evergreen 39-year-old appears to have put that defeat behind him already though, as he looks to fill in a career blank by helping Scotland return to the World Cup.

He was in superb form all season for Hearts, and even though former Scotland hero David Marshall is back in the squad it would be a foolish man who bet against Gordon being between the sticks come kick-off.

Leading from the front

(SNS Group)

Ryan Christie strikes us as the kind of hard-worker that always leads by example in training.

Having taken part in a pre-training camp boot camp with Lyndon Dykes and Jacob Brown to stay fully fit, the Bournemouth forward is hoping he will be given a starring role again for his country.

The 27-year-old enjoyed a brilliant season with the Cherries, helping them get promoted back up to the Premier League.

Adding a World Cup trip to top flight football next season would seal a pretty decent year for the former Celtic star, and he looks desperate to impress the gaffer and help make that dream a reality.

Big decisions to make

(SNS Group)

Every Scotland fan thinks they know how their team should line up on Wednesday night.

But the only starting XI that really matters is the one that Steve Clarke decides to send onto the Hampden turf to take on a very dangerous opponent.

While Ukraine have suffered the worst build-up imaginable, they will be desperate to bag a victory for their country and did make it all the way to the quarter-finals at the Euros just last year.

Clarke knows he has to get his line-up spot on, and much will depend on how he tries to soften the blow of losing Kieran Tierney from his settled back line.

John Souttar proved his fitness in last weekend's Scottish Cup final, and like Tierney loves to step out from the defence and spark attacks.

He could find himself back for the first time since notching against Denmark, while up front the decision to play Lyndon Dykes or Che Adams - or both - is likely causing Clarke a bit of a headache.

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