Scotland and Steve Clarke aim to end 2022 on high with win over Turkey

Scotland boss Steve Clarke expects a hostile reception for his players in Wednesday’s friendly against Turkey and believes the experience will be valuable for the squad.

The teams meet in Diyarbakir for the final friendly of 2022, with Scotland looking to build on a positive end to the Nations League campaign, and look ahead to next year’s Euro qualifiers.

Clarke will have the opportunity to give some less experienced players game time outside of competitive matches with points at stake. However, the manager believes the quality of the opposition and the country’s reputation for a noisy and challenging atmosphere can make it a proper test for Scotland.

Like Scotland, Turkey failed to reach Qatar 2022 and are hoping for a positive result to take them into the next campaign.

“Turkey are rebuilding and they’re a dangerous team,” Clarke said. “We’re ranked pretty similarly.

“We’re expecting a tough game and it should be a good atmosphere because it’s always pretty lively out there.

“It’ll be a good experience for the players to play in a hostile environment even though it’s a friendly.

“Hopefully we’ll put on a good performance. We’re four games unbeaten and we want to take that into March.

“I didn’t play in Turkey but I went out there a couple of times as a coach. It was always lively and really noisy. It’s something to look forward to.”

Clarke has captain Andy Robertson back in the squad and there’s also a return for Grant Hanley after injury. In-form Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson is also back in contention to play and there’s a first call-up for Liverpool’s Calvin Ramsay.

The match kicks off at 5pm UK time in the Diyarbakir Stadium.