Steve Clarke keen on Hampden send-off for his Euro 2024-bound Scotland players

STEVE Clarke is hoping the SFA can arrange a glamour friendly against a top football nation at Hampden next June so the Tartan Army can give Scotland a rousing send off to Euro 2024.

Clarke’s men secured their place in the finals in Germany next summer last month and their final two Group A matches against Georgia away on Thursday and Norway at home on Tuesday week are now virtually meaningless.

However, the 60-year-old has not given up hope of the national side finishing above Spain, who are currently only ahead of them on goal difference, in the section and being seeded in the draw in Hamburg next month.

He is also keen for John McGinn and his team mates to get back to winning ways following three straight defeats to England, Spain and France and will be going all out to finish a remarkable campaign with two victories.

Clarke is also eager for Scotland to warm up for Euro 2024 with good results against decent opponents during the international windows in March and June – and he would like their last run-out to be in front of 50,000 of their own fans at Hampden. 

“We are still discussing that,” he said. “It is very difficult to nail down who you are playing until you know who has qualified for the Euros. You don’t want to play a friendly against someone you are going to meet in the tournament.

“But thoughts on the friendlies will be as tough as we can get them. I want tough games, I want to play good teams. I think you learn more from playing good teams than playing teams you should beat. 

“Before Euro 2020 we played Holland away which was a good game and then Luxemburg on the way home. If you look at Luxembourg now they have improved a lot. I think they showed that night that they have improved a lot. I think they are third in their qualifying section this time.

“So we will look for two games similar to that – a top level, Pot One team and maybe a Pot Three team for the second game. We are looking to be competitive.” 

Asked if Scotland would be going away for a warm-weather training camp before the Euro 2024 finals as they did ahead of Euro 2020, Clarke said: “I think my bosses will decide that rather than me. It depends how much money they can make.

“Since the last Euros were disrupted a bit because of Covid, it would be nice to think we could have a send-off game here. Certainly not with the bus going round the park and no opposition on the pitch (as Scotland did before their infamous trip to Argentina for the World Cup in 1978). We will try and play a game this time.”