STEVE Clarke has urged the Tartan Army to roar Scotland to World Cup glory tomorrow night — and insisted: “We can do something special.”
The national team can qualify for next year’s finals in the US, Canada and Mexico by beating Denmark at Hampden Park.
And fans last night claimed reaching the event for the first time since 1998 would be the country’s greatest sporting achievement in decades.
In a rallying cry to supporters, boss Clarke said: “It’s a great group of players but we’re going to need backing from the first minute at Hampden.
“We need positive backing.
“One of my favourite sayings for the players is, ‘Play with the anticipation of success and not the fear of failure.’
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“I’m going to ask the Hampden crowd to do that on Tuesday night.
“We need them from the first minute to be with us and in the difficult moments in the game to be especially with us because that’s what this group of players deserve.
“If they get that, I’m pretty sure we can do something special.”
Diehard followers are hopeful that Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Scott McTominay and their teammates can break the 27-year hoodoo.
Last night Iain Emerson, editor of the Famous Tartan Army Magazine, told The Scottish Sun: “It would easily be the biggest sporting achievement since we went to the 1998 World Cup in France.
“Just to give ourselves the chance speaks volumes for the manager and the team.
“We like to dream.
“It would be special to qualify at Hampden against a top team. It was great to reach the Euros twice.
“But the World Cup is a real different level. It’s the biggest sporting event of all and the Tartan Army wants to be there to liven up events.
“It’s been too long.”
Everything you need to know
When does Scotland vs Denmark kick-off?
- Scotland face Denmark on Tuesday, 18 November
- The big match kicks off at 7.45pm UK time
- It’s being held at Hampden Park in Glasgow
- The match is a World Cup qualifier, the final game for both sides in Group C
- Top Polish referee Szymon Marciniak – who took charge of the last World Cup final – will be the man in the middle for this massive game
- Tomasz Kwiatkowski, also from Poland, will be the lead VAR official
Can I live stream Scotland vs Denmark? Is it on TV?
- The huge Scotland vs Denmark clash will be shown live on the BBC
- Coverage gets underway on the BBC Scotland channel at 7.15pm with the match also being shown on BBC Two Scotland from 7.30pm
- You can live stream the match for FREE via the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Scotland website
- And uou can follow every bit of build-up and every kick from the match with SunSport’s live match blog
What do Scotland need to do to qualify?
- Scotland need to WIN against Denmark to secure automatic qualification for the World Cup
- If the match ends in a draw or a win for Denmark, then Scotland will finish second in Group C behind Tuesday night’s opponents
- If Scotland fail to win and secure automatic qualification, they will instead advance to the play-offs
- The play-offs will take place in March in the form of a one-legged semi-final match followed by a final
Iain added: “At France ’98, the whole country was buzzing when we played Brazil in the opening game. It doesn’t get bigger than that.”
Andy Smith, chair of supporters group the Scottish Football Union, said: “I’ll be watching the game through my fingers. But I’m really excited.
“If we win and qualify, it will be the best achievement by a Scottish team since the 1990 rugby Grand Slam victory over England.”
Hamish Husband, of the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, added: “The task is to qualify and then be a success at next year’s World Cup.
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“We’ve been to two Euros and still failed.
“It is make-or-break for Stevie Clarke.”
