Steve Clarke: Scotland intend to be a handful at Euro 2024 finals

Scotland boss Steve Clarke saw his side sign off on the Euro 2024 qualifiers with a 3-3 draw against Norway – and said the team intend to be difficult opponents for whoever they meet in the finals.

The national team had already booked their place in Germany with two games to spare when they took to the field at Hampden for the final game of the qualifying campaign.

Scotland came from behind twice in the first half with a John McGinn penalty and an own goal cancelling out goals from Aron Dennum and Jorgen Larsen. Stuart Armstrong put Scotland ahead after the break but a late Mo Elyounoussi goal sealed a draw for the visitors.

Clarke was unimpressed with his side’s first half showing but felt they improved after the break but he enjoyed the post-match moments when the squad took to the field to celebrate qualification with the support.

“It was nice,” he said. “And nice for the supporters to say thank you to the team, a nice night for the team and staff to thank the supporters.

“It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament. Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans.

“It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.”

Clarke now looks ahead to December’s draw in Hamburg for the finals but shrugged off news that Scotland would be in seeding pot three and avoiding Netherlands and Italy, among others.

But responding to a comment from Norway boss Stale Solbakken that Scotland would be “a handful” for any opponent next summer, he said he was hopeful that would be true.

“That would be the intention,” Clarke said. “Intention is to go there, what we’ve worked very hard at is being competitive. Being a competitive team every time we go on to the pitch.

“That’s why I was a little bit disappointed with the first half and I didn’t think we were competitive enough.

“We were much, much more competitive in the second half.

“We’re Scotland. We have a certain way of playing. We have a style we like to play on the front foot and hopefully the Norway manager’s right when we get to Germany.”