... But Scotland manager turns his attentions to victory over Denmark

STEVE Clarke last night targeted a victory over Euro 2020 semi-finalists Denmark at Hampden on Monday night after leading Scotland to a 2-0 victory over Moldova that clinched a Qatar 2022 play-off spot.

The national team won their penultimate Group F match in the Zimbru Stadium in Chisinau and ensured they will finish runners-up in their section thanks to a first-half goal from Nathan Patterson and a second-half strike by Che Adams.

However, Clarke is keen for his side, who have won their last five qualifiers, to be seeded in the draw for the play-off semi-final so they can get a home game and knows that a win over the Danes is still vital.

Scotland have eight players who are just one booking away from picking up a suspension – Che Adams, Billy Gilmour, Jack Hendry, John McGinn, Scott McTominay, Kevin Nisbet, Stephen O’Donnell and Andy Robertson. However, their manager will field a full-strength side against the runaway group winners and go all out for victory regardless.

“It’s just one of those things,” he said. “It’s part and parcel of the process of getting there. I thought long and hard about it because we spoke about the possibility of getting some players booked then missing the game against Denmark on Monday.

“But we probably need to get something from the game against Denmark on Monday to try and get that seeding so it is a really important game for us. We also want to keep the momentum going. It’s difficult to win five matches in a row at any level. We have done it at international level, which is particularly hard, and we want to make sure we put on a good show on Monday to make sure we go into March in a really good frame of mind.”

Asked how big an achievement getting to the World Cup play-offs was, Clarke said: “It’s a measure of a good group of players who want to do well for their country and are desperate to get to another tournament.

“Back in March we were 10 or 12 games away from Qatar. Now we are two games away from Qatar so that is a major improvement. But we don’t get over-excited. It’s nice to be in the play-offs and we want to go through them and get to Qatar – that is the aim. But the players have been fantastic.”