Angus Gunn has been handed his first Scotland call-up after switching allegiance from England; striker Lyndon Dykes is included after illness; Scotland kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a Hampden Park double-header against Cyprus and Spain
Wednesday 15 March 2023 11:12, UK
Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn has been given his first Scotland call-up for this month's Euro 2024 qualifiers after switching allegiance from England.
The 27-year-old has represented England from U16 to U21 level but qualifies for Scotland through his Thurso-born father Bryan, who was capped six times for the national side.
With No 1 goalkeeper Craig Gordon out due to a double leg break, head coach Steve Clarke has also named uncapped duo Zander Clark of Hearts and Motherwell's Liam Kelly in the 23-man squad.
At the other end of the field, QPR's Lyndon Dykes is included after being hospitalised with an illness, while Stoke City's Jacob Brown keeps his place.
However, there is no place for Hibernian striker Kevin Nisbet, who has scored eight goals in 10 league matches, or Hearts' Lawrence Shankland following recent injuries.
Midfielder Callum McGregor returns after missing the last squad due to Celtic's trip to Australia, while the likes of Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey and Liam Cooper are included in Clarke's defensive options.
Premier League trio Calvin Ramsey (Liverpool), Ryan Fraser (Newcastle) and Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest) drop out from Clarke's last squad in November.
Scotland kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a Hampden Park double-header against Cyprus on March 25, followed by Spain three days later.
Goalkeepers: Zander Clark (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Norwich City), Liam Kelly (Motherwell).
Defenders: Liam Cooper (Leeds United), Grant Hanley (Norwich City), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Nathan Patterson (Everton), Ryan Porteous (Watford), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), Kieran Tierney (Arsenal), Dominic Hyam (Blackburn Rovers)*, Anthony Ralston (Celtic)*.
Midfielders: Stuart Armstrong (Southampton), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Billy Gilmour (Brighton), Ryan Jack (Rangers), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Callum McGregor (Celtic), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Manchester United).
Forwards: Che Adams (Southampton), Jacob Brown (Stoke City), Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Lyndon Dykes (Queens Park Rangers).
*Added to initial squad
Steve Clarke admitted it was easy to convince Gunn to switch allegiance from England, but insisted he has yet to decide who will start in their qualifying double header.
"I met him at Norwich, we had a good conversation and I didn't have to persuade him too much because he felt that his best chance of getting international football was to play for Scotland," Clarke said.
"His dad is a Scotland international so it all fitted in quite well.
"We've lost Craig Gordon which is a big blow to us. Craig was the undisputed No 1 and I looked at the pool of goalkeepers and I just felt if we could improve that then that's what we should do. So that was the thinking behind getting Angus on board.
"The good thing is we've got a full week's training.
"I've got three good goalkeepers. Liam Kelly has been in almost every squad, Zander's been in the squads and obviously lost his place when he wasn't playing and was sitting behind Craig at Hearts.
"None of them have got any caps, so it's all to play for in the week.
"Everyone starts fresh and it can be a big chance for somebody to nail down the No 1 spot."
March 25: Scotland vs Cyprus, kick-off 2pm
March 28: Scotland vs Spain, kick-off 7.45pm
June 17: Norway vs Scotland, kick-off 5pm
June 20: Scotland vs Georgia, kick-off 7.45pm
September 8: Cyprus vs Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
October 12: Spain vs Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
November 16: Georgia vs Scotland, kick-off 5pm
November 19: Scotland vs Norward, kick-off 7.45pm
Analysis by SSN reporter Luke Shanley:
Clarke has had this issue with the goalkeeping situation with Craig Gordon injured after his horror leg break, meaning he will not be back till the start of next season.
So it was all about who would replace him as there have been quite a few goalkeepers in the squad this season, but not with any caps. Zander Clark, who had been deputising for him at Hearts, is back in the squad and so too Angus Gunn, who has 12 England U21 caps, but has switched his allegiance to Scotland.
At the back, the likes of Liam Cooper, Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey are all back, while Lyndon Dykes is also available - he played on the weekend for QPR and did have that spell in hospital, Clarke did not expect it, but was delighted.
There is no Lawrence Shankland, who has that hamstring injury at Hearts, and despite having a good season Clarke did not want to put him in now and risk him as he tries to recover.
No Greg Taylor too, who played against Poland and Ukraine back in September, but Clarke says he is dealing with a couple of injury issues, although there is great competition for Scotland at left-back with Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney.
Callum McGregor is back in, a key player, while Clarke also confirmed Scotland would be training at Queen's Park's stadium, just adjacent to Hampden Park, so they will move from Edinburgh, where they have been training for the past three or four years, to Glasgow where they will train and stay in the city centre ahead of two big games to open up the European qualifiers against Cyprus and then Spain
With Clarke bidding to lead Scotland to back-to-back European Championships, Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell says Scottish football is doing "remarkably well" but admits it is "vitally important" to continue to grow and develop the game.
"Scottish football is doing remarkably well," he told Sky Sports News.
"When you look at the men's A squad we're in Nations League Group A, we're punching above our weight from that perspective.
"The women's national team are progressing really well having been to the World Cup in France and we want to see them back at major tournaments as soon as we can.
"The numbers in terms of registered players are increasing year-on-year, we've seen a significant upturn in registered players, particularly in the female game since Covid and that's vitally important to us as an association that we continue to develop and grow the game and ensure that participation opportunities are there for everyone that wants to."
