On Tuesday, Scotland earned a promotion to the top tier and secured Euro 2024 play-off place by drawing with Ukraine by 0-0. Steve Clarke, Scottish football manager, believes that the Euro 2024 playoff secured and promotion from Group B of the Nations League will not be required.
This week, Scotland earned seven points and hold off Ukraine to claim promotion to group A. In the Euro 2024 qualifying draw on 9 October, Scotland will be in pot two and have that playoff spot as a fallback option if they fail to qualify.
Steve said I don’t think, with this group of players, that we will need it, and that’s my honest opinion. It’s nice to have the safety net of the playoffs, but I feel we can qualify outright, and I would expect this team to qualify directly, he said.
Moreover, Steve said I haven’t looked at who is there yet or who we can get, I want to enjoy this week, and I want the Scottish public to enjoy this week. I want the players to go away feeling brilliant about themselves, but let’s not just think that’s enough, and Let’s push for more, he said.
Scotland team under Steve has delivered success, but there have also been times of trouble. In the World Cup playoff, Scotland lost to Ukraine and the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League.
Steve said, If you go back to June, some people wanted me out the door, things can change quickly in football, and this has been a good week. It’s about trying to make ourselves better to move things forward again, he said.
The frustration for Scotland is that they cannot test themselves until the competition resumes in 2024 because of the Nations League opposition.
Steve said on this, It’s tough, and it’s certainly not going to be easy. You see Wales as they went up, they’ve come back again, and If you want to improve you want to play against the better teams, he said.
