Steve Clarke preparing for England with Scotland on verge of Euros qualification

Scotland manager Steve Clarke is preparing to take on England at Hampden in Tuesday’s night’s 150th anniversary match.

But as well as trying to get a result against the Auld Enemy in the southside of Glasgow, one eye will also be on Oslo where Norway are taking on Georgia in a European Championship qualifier.

That’s because a draw between the pair would secure the Tartan Army’s place at Euro 2024 in Germany.

With five wins from their first five games Scotland would become the first team to book their place at next summer’s tournament.

It will also be the second Euros in a row under Clarke, after waiting 24 years before reaching the 2020 version that was held in 2021 across the continent.

And, if they get there, it will be the national team’s first European Championships outside of the UK since Sweden in 1992.

Ahead of Tuesday’s games the manager spoke to the press on Monday and confirmed his continued interest in capping Elliot Anderson and refused to rule out a move for Harvey Barnes after Tuesday’s friendly against England.

Anderson spent two days with Scotland last week before withdrawing from the squad and England manager Gareth Southgate has since expressed admiration for the Newcastle midfielder and stated his backroom team would be taking the situation up.

Clarke said: “We like the player as well so Elliot will still have that choice to make.

“When I come out of this camp I will look at what we have done, what we have had, what’s occurred over this camp, we will do a debrief on it and then we will shape what we do from there.”

Anderson’s Newcastle team-mate, Barnes, is reported to be considering a switch of allegiance after playing once for England in a friendly win over Wales three years ago.

When asked about Barnes, Clarke said: “Probably the same comment, to think about that after.

“We want the best players we can possibly get. If they are eligible for Scotland and they have a chance to play for us and they can improve the squad that I’ve got – which is not an easy thing to do…

“And I get all the story round it, because we are playing England you want to speak about Elliot, you want to speak about Harvey.

“I quite like speaking about the boys I have got because they have put us in a really good position and they deserve a lot of credit for that.”

You can watch his press conference here.