Goalkeeper Craig Gordon and defender John Souttar are set to miss out on Euro 2024 as Scotland head coach Steve Clarke trims his squad from 28 to 26 players following Friday's home friendly against Finland.
Scotland is scheduled to face hosts Germany in the opening match in Munich on June 14. Clarke has already faced setbacks with injuries to Aaron Hickey, Nathan Patterson, and Lewis Ferguson before finalizing his provisional group. Additionally, Lyndon Dykes and Ben Doak have withdrawn, leading to the call-ups of Tommy Conway and Lewis Morgan.
BBC Scotland reports that Hearts veteran Gordon, 41, is likely to feature against Finland at Hampden, potentially earning his 75th cap. Gordon has only played seven matches since suffering a leg break in December 2022. Zander Clark, his fellow Tynecastle keeper, appears to be the second choice behind Angus Gunn for the national team.
Rangers centre-half Souttar, 27, who has nine international appearances since his debut in 2018, missed the last three matches of the season due to injury but has been training with the Scotland squad. With four goalkeepers and seven centre-backs listed, it seems likely that the cuts will come from these positions.
During a media conference on Thursday afternoon, Clarke remained tight-lipped about his decision, stating: "I’ve reached a decision. I haven’t had the conversation." When asked about the difficulty of the process, he added: "Almost impossible, but that’s my job. I have to do it. It won’t be nice, it won’t be easy, but we’ll deal with that between now and the deadline."
The official deadline for squad submissions is midnight on Friday.
