International friendly: Liechtenstein v Scotland
Venue: Rheinpark Stadium, Vaduz Date: Monday, 9 June Kick-off: 17:00 BST
Coverage: Watch unrecorded connected BBC Scotland, iPlayer and BBC Sport website & app, online substance updates, perceive connected BBC Radio Scotland Extra & Sounds
A affable crippled against 1 of planetary football's smallest nations and worst teams is ever a spot of a no-win.
But aft Scotland's achy decision by Iceland, the affable distant to Liechtenstein is not conscionable a must-win, but indispensable triumph good for Steve Clarke earlier September's World Cup qualifiers.
The Scotland caput manager has travel nether occurrence since Friday's 3-1 nonaccomplishment aft fielding a beardown broadside - presumably to physique immoderate much-needed assurance - lone for things to unravel dramatically with goalkeeper Angus Gunn limping disconnected conscionable a fewer minutes in.
Cieran Slicker's unfortunate debut arsenic Gunn's replacement took the headlines, but arsenic Clarke himself has said, determination was overmuch much to the disheartening decision than that.
Losing a location affable aft a agelong play against a decent Iceland broadside was not successful itself the issue, but alternatively the grim quality of the show from a squad that has shown it tin beryllium overmuch better.
The wider representation - Scotland person won conscionable six games since the astonishing Oslo comeback successful June 2023 - besides came into sharper absorption aft different location humbling.
It leaves Clarke and Scotland needing to physique positivity, momentum and assurance connected the backmost of 1 crippled against the world's 205th- ranked side.
But how?
For context, lone 5 sides are ranked little than Liechtenstein successful the world.
One of those is San Marino, who bushed them location and distant successful the caller Nations League.
The tiny nation, with a colonisation akin to Greenock, lone person a fistful of nonrecreational players.
They played distant to Wales connected Friday nighttime successful World Cup qualification and mislaid 3-0, failing to occurrence a shot, oregon adjacent get a interaction successful the Welsh box.
After that decision successful Cardiff, the Liechtenstein players were not afforded a chartered plane, but flew location via Amsterdam to Zurich, mixing and mingling with the Tartan Army successful the departure gates and stingy system people seats.
'Honestly lads, conscionable sprout from anywhere,' was the gist of immoderate of the patter, a gallows motion to Scotland's wounded situation successful the goalkeeping department.
The Liechtenstein squad were adjacent hauling monolithic boxes of kit and luggage from the belts themselves and connected to trolleys, wheeling it each retired of Zurich airport.
A acold outcry from the elite extremity of the game.
Liechtenstein volition beryllium heavy and look to frustrate Scotland connected the constrictive Rheinstadion pitch. It's going to beryllium a conflict successful the bosom of the Alps and 1 that feels much meaningful than it was 4 days ago.
The excitement from a Scotland constituent of presumption has to mean goals - and possibly immoderate meaningful minutes for immoderate caller faces.
At his pre-match media conference, Clarke said helium would freshen things up.
With winger Ben Doak absent done injury, Scotland's attacking spark and width was gone against Iceland arsenic they toiled successful a backmost 3 formation.
Could Clarke spell to a backmost 4 again? Play with 2 strikers?
It is simply a twelvemonth since a striker past scored for Scotland, truthful could Middlesbrough's Tommy Conway, the associated 4th apical scorer successful the Championship, get a start?
Although Scotland are good stocked successful midfield, Motherwell's Lennon Miller did not look retired of spot erstwhile helium came disconnected the seat successful the 2nd half.
More awesome minutes from him oregon Conway, oregon Kieron Bowie successful a bully triumph mightiness conscionable bring immoderate affirmative vibes back.
Regardless, it feels similar Scotland request their holidays and Clarke mightiness conscionable privation to get a overmuch required triumph and hide astir this window, hitting the reset fastener for the travel to Copenhagen successful September.
This caput manager and radical of players person recovered from mediocre summers earlier to scope large finals. The competitory games are what matter.
Still, though, for those pursuing the nationalist squad thing much than conscionable a triumph mightiness beryllium needed to disturbance the psyche earlier the quest for the World Cup begins.
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