Shortly after Scotland had thumped Bolivia 4-0 last weekend, Steve Clarke was asked whether he knew his starting XI for the opening World Cup clash with Haiti.
‘No, I’ve got some decisions to make,’ said Clarke after Scotland had hammered the South Americans in their final warm-up fixture in New Jersey.
‘The starting XI becomes a fixation, but this is a tournament for your finishing XI.’
It was, you suspect, largely manager-speak. Clarke is bound to know by now who will start against Haiti in Boston on Saturday night.
The performance against Bolivia will, of course, have given him food for thought. Especially the midfield, where the competition for places is the fiercest of any area.
Yet, after months of preparation and weighing up all the options, Clarke will know the 11 players who still start Scotland’s first World Cup match in 28 years.
The fact that he went with a 4-4-2 system in the warm-up matches against Curacao and Bolivia gives a clear indication of how Scotland will line up against Haiti.
The importance of this match cannot be overstated. For Scotland, this is the game that holds the keys to opening up the rest of the tournament.
Calum Crowe believes Craig Gordon should get the nod to start in goals for Scotland
Win it and they’ll be off to a flier. Failure to take three points would see them chasing their tail right from the outset.
The fact that Angus Gunn was handed the No 1 jersey when the squad numbers were announced perhaps indicates that he will get the nod in goal.
Then again, it might mean nothing at all. Ben Gannon-Doak is No 17 and Lawrence Shankland is No 20, but both are surely certain to start against the Haitians.
It is a straight shootout between Gunn and Gordon at the goalkeeper position, with Liam Kelly providing the back-up as third-choice.
It was Gunn who had the jersey at the start of the qualifying campaign, playing the first four matches, before an injury saw him ruled out and Gordon play the final two games against Greece and Denmark.
At club level, Gunn played only 45 minutes of football over the course of the full season for Nottingham Forest.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke will be pondering his starting eleven to face Haiti
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Should Scotland always play bold attacking football at major tournaments, or does caution serve us better?
Gordon didn’t fare much better in that regard. He played only three matches for Hearts, albeit he produced arguably the save of the season in one of those games away at Dundee.
What it will all boil down to ultimately is which keeper Clarke has most faith in. Who is the most likely to pull Scotland out of a hole with a big save?
If Vinicius Junior was clean through one-on-one, who would you put the mortgage on to deny the Brazil and Real Madrid superstar?
Gordon’s record of making big saves for Scotland over the years is second to none. For that reason, he should get the nod.
In defence, three of the back four – Andy Robertson, Grant Hanley and Aaron Hickey – are certain to start.
The only question will be around who partners Hanley at centre-back. Scott McKenna has just won a league and cup double with Dinamo Zagreb.
But, along with John Souttar, the two of them looked a bit suspect in the game against Curacao at Hampden.
Souttar fell out favour with Rangers towards the end of the season, while Jack Hendry offers the most in terms of distribution from the back.
Ben Gannon-Doak is a certainty to start for Scotland against Haiti in Boston
Given that Scotland will be expected to play on the front foot, Hendry should get the nod against Haiti, but McKenna could come back in against Morocco and Brazil.
The midfield will be Clarke’s biggest dilemma. After showing signs of ring-rust against Curacao, Gannon-Doak was much-improved against Bolivia. He will start on the right.
If Clarke really wants to be bold, he could then go with John McGinn and Scott McTominay in the middle, with Ryan Christie out wide on the left.
The handbrake would very much be off. But the prospect of Clarke going with two strikers and no natural holding player in midfield does feel somewhat fanciful.
Always neat and tidy on the ball, Kenny McLean could be the one who is asked to sit and dictate play from deep, with McTominay bombing on.
That would then see McGinn play from the left but tucking into central areas, with Robertson getting forward to provide the width.
Up front, Shankland and Che Adams deserve to start the tournament as the preferred pairing after their recent performances.
All of this leaves Ryan Christie as the odd man out. He could play in a free role as the No 10 if Clarke opted to go with more of a 4-4-1-1.
But, to go back to Clarke’s comment about the importance of players coming off the bench to finish games, the energy of Christie and Lewis Ferguson as second-half substitutes could be invaluable.
Likewise, Findlay Curtis. The young Rangers winger is brimming with confidence right now and came off the bench to good effect in both warm-up games, scoring against Curacao.
Midfielder Ryan Christie could be the odd man out against Haiti
Daily Mail Sport’s Calum Crowe’s Scotland team to face Haiti
It is highly unlikely that Scotland will play 4-4-2 across the three matches in Group C. Against Morocco and Brazil, where they will see less of the ball, it could be 4-2-3-1.
Or Clarke could even revert to the 3-4-2-1 system which served him so well over his first few years in the job.
Haiti, however, will be a different kettle of fish. The Caribbean minnows are dangerous on the counter and they have good pace.
They are not the pub team that some seem to believe. But, nonetheless, it’s still a match Scotland should win – and win well – if they are to be taken seriously in this World Cup.
If Scotland can get off the mark and win by a margin of two or three goals, it immediately opens up the rest of the tournament.
This is where the talk of making history and becoming the first Scotland team to qualify for the knockout stages of a major tournament needs to be viewed in context.
Given the expanded format of the World Cup, getting out of the group stage should be the bare minimum of what is expected of Clarke and his players.
If they can’t do it, then it would be a failure. Plain and simple. Three points and a goal difference that breaks even at around 0 could well be enough to do it.
Scotland are more than capable of doing that. Certainly, a repeat of the last two Euros cannot be tolerated. As a nation, it is right that we should expect better.
MY SCOTLAND TEAM TO FACE HAITI: Scotland (4-4-2): Gordon; Hickey, Hanley, Hendry, Robertson; Gannon-Doak, McTominay, McLean, McGinn; Adams, Shankland.
