After the Six Nations of rugby, football regains some prominence in Scotland, although in Glasgow people live the day more aware of the historic rivalry between Celtic and Rangers than of their selection. Do you mean that the game against Spain is not interesting? Absolutely. There will be 50,000 people in the national stadium cheering on their ‘tartan army’, but the Scots have grown used to seeing their national team out of the finals, and that ends up weighing on their spirits. Without a World Cup presence since 1998, Scotland hasn’t known what it’s like to win a Euro Cup game since 1996 either. They have never played a tie in either of those two tournaments, so today’s duel is attractive, but it creates just the right illusion.
The game is being talked about because of the worrying state of the pitch at Hampden Park, but not because of what it might mean for today’s clash against Luis de la Fuente’s boys, but because of how it will affect the semifinal of the Scottish Cup between the two greats teams from the city scheduled for next April 30.
The warning about the poor state of the pitch was given by John McGinn, the Aston Villa midfielder who has become the great hero of the Scottish team in recent times. Last Saturday he was the author of the first goal against Cyprus, the sixteenth with the national shirt, which makes him the seventh all-time scorer. Many already see him as capable of surpassing the record of the legendary Kenny Dalglish, who scored 30 goals for Scotland during his career. The curious thing is that McGinn, who made his debut in 2016, only began to score as a result of Steven Clarke’s arrival on the bench, in 2019. He has achieved 16 goals since then. Also the six assists that he has distributed in that same period. Even his teammates are surprised by the performance he offers with the national team.
And Scotland entrusts itself to him, the player who only seems to shine when he puts on his country’s shirt. Also a coach called to recover the best years of national football. Clarke, who was once an assistant coach at Newcastle and Liverpool, has just renewed until 2026. But what Scotland offered against Cyprus will not be enough against Spain. McGinn knows that and Clarke knows that. Everybody knows. “We have to be disciplined, organize ourselves well and for Spain to play below their level. If all this happens we will be able to achieve a good result, “said the coach yesterday in his official appearance. “We have shown in the past that we are capable of getting results against good teams. The more we play against those kinds of teams, the better we will be too.”
And all this in a winter atmosphere that contrasts with the spring that he left behind in Malaga. People, bundled up, walk quickly through the streets, and in George Square the gulls that venture from the Clyde River do not respect the statues of the great men of Glasgow and dye their heads white. Spain awaits the game at the Hilton hotel, in the heart of the financial district next to the headquarters of Morgan Stanley and Santander, and with the players’ windows too close to the M8, the highway that leads to Edinburgh and the North Sea.