Well, you wouldn’t expect Steve Clarke to revel in his team’s newfound scoring habit when there is a show of defensive discipline to appreciate… would you?
While just about everyone else was excited by the four goals Scotland netted against Bolivia on Saturday night, the head coach was just as happy with developments elsewhere in the side.
Seven days after the 4-1 win against Curacao at Hampden Park, a clean sheet against the South Americans in New Jersey looked like progress, especially with a 4-4-2 formation that doesn’t always lend itself to solidity.
‘Me being me, I was really happy with the defensive work they did, the way they dropped down, kept the team compact and didn’t allow Bolivia to play through us,’ Clarke said afterwards.
He was probably talking mostly about his midfield, but it will also have heartened Clarke to see his defence — which comprised Aaron Hickey, Jack Hendry, Grant Hanley and Andy Robertson — look so comfortable, albeit against limited opponents.
For long enough, Clarke’s preferred system was 3-4-2-1, not least because he needed a shape that accommodated both Robertson, the team’s captain, and Kieran Tierney.
Steve Clarke watches his players train in Charlotte as he ponders his line-up for Haiti
But when Tierney faced fitness challenges, with Arsenal and then Celtic, there was no longer a dilemma for Scotland, who came through World Cup qualifying with four at the back.
While 4-4-2 is unlikely to be the shape in all three of their games in the competition proper, they will surely use it in their Group C opener against Haiti this weekend.
Taking on the team ranked 83 in the world, Scotland will be expected to enjoy plenty of possession. The strategy therefore will be to take advantage of it with two strikers and a winger.
The tricky bit for Clarke will be to ensure that, despite playing with only two central midfielders and two centre-halves, his team do not render themselves vulnerable to a lively Haiti counter-attack.
It is the sort of game that demands a ball-playing back four, not prone to lapses in concentration. While there are still decisions for Clarke to make, it’s safe to say his full-backs are set in stone.
Quite apart from being their skipper, Robertson offers quality, experience and the ability to double as an auxiliary winger. That is especially important on the left, where the midfielder isn’t so wide as his counterpart on the other side. The Tottenham defender hit the byeline to set up Lawrence Shankland’s opener against Bolivia.
Aaron Hickey is nailed-on to start at right-back and offers a threat going forward too
On the right, Hickey has made the position his own. Now clear of the injury that hampered his development, the young Brentford player is flourishing.
He is strong, two-footed and supremely comfortable on the ball. Not enough has been said about his pass inside the full-back that allowed Ben Gannon-Doak to set up the third goal against Bolivia.
Where it gets a little hazier for Clarke is in the middle. There was a time not so long ago when John Souttar, a defender with natural footballing ability, would have been the perfect fit.
But the 29-year-old has fallen out of favour at Rangers, where he has played only twice since the Scottish Cup quarter-final against Celtic in early March. He started against Curacao but was seen as sluggish when the visitors scored.
Instead, the smart money is on Jack Hendry to be the man who starts play, as he did against Bolivia.
Scott McKenna missed out on the win over Bolivia but many expect him to start against Haiti
It’s easy to deride the Saudi League, where he has played for Al-Ettifaq these last three years, but Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Ivan Toney and Alexandre Lacazette have been among his opponents. And he’ll be well accustomed to the heat that will exhaust others at the World Cup finals.
Alongside him, Scott McKenna would seem to be the natural choice. The Dinamo Zagreb centre-back is robust, quick across the ground and left-footed, which adds natural balance to the rearguard. He won a league-and-cup double in Croatia last season.
And yet, McKenna was caught under the ball when Curacao scored at Hampden and he played no part in the final warm-up game, viewed by many as a dress rehearsal for the tournament opener. For that one, Clarke went with Grant Hanley, as he so often has in the past.
Hanley, who struggled with injury at Hibs last season, has his critics at international level, but the 34-year-old is a dogged warrior of a defender who you would want alongside you in the trenches. On paper, he looks more suited to the challenges presented by Brazil and Morocco, but you never know.
Tierney will be a contender to start if Scotland choose to defend in numbers. Otherwise, he will be the second-half substitute who gives Robertson a break, just as Tony Ralston will deputise for Hickey on the other side.
Grant Hanley is a huge favourite of Clarke’s and he can expect plenty game time in the States
Nathan Patterson is another option at right-back, but he played only seven Premier League games last season, just three of them from the start.
Of all the defenders in Clarke’s squad, Dom Hyam is probably the furthest away from a starting berth, but he was a regular last season with Wrexham, who finished seventh in the Championship.
A back three — or, heaven forbid, an injury — would enhance his chances of being involved, at least as a substitute.
If there is uncertainty around who will shore up the defence, maybe that isn’t such a bad thing. If Clarke has decisions to mull over, it also means that he has options — for later in the game and for later in the tournament.
With heat, injuries and maybe even suspensions sure to take their toll, Scotland will need them.
