A QUIET REVELATION
Cooper convinced reserved No1 Gordon can be a big noise for Scotland at World Cup next winter despite approaching 40
TO his admiring international team-mates, Craig Gordon is the understated elder-statesman of the Scotland squad.
With each stellar performance by the Hearts goalkeeper, however, there is increasingly a lot of noise surrounding The Quiet Man of Steve Clarke’s national team set-up.
On Friday night in Chisinau, Scotland’s No 1 saved a late penalty from Moldova’s Vadim Rata after making an astonishing first-half stop from a header by Artur Ionita.
As a World Cup play-off was secured with a 2-0 win, Callum McGregor likened his former Celtic team-mate to Peter Pan.
And defender Liam Cooper is not remotely surprised by the major clamour surrounding an evergreen player who could star for Scotland at a World Cup next winter just weeks before his 40th birthday in December.
‘Craig is unbelievable to be around,’ enthused the Leeds United captain. ‘He’s quite quiet and he keeps himself to himself. But what he has done for the nation is unbelievable. He’s made some big saves for his country.
‘The two the other night against Moldova were unbelievable — the header in the first half and the penalty in the second half. Craig deserves all the accolades.
‘It’s not the first time he’s saved us in big games and it certainly won’t be the last.
‘He takes a lot of pride in that and he loves playing for his country, as we all do. It’s great that he’s getting recognition.’
Gordon will likely have his hands full tonight against runaway Group F leaders Denmark, who have scored an incredible 30 goals in nine qualifiers.
The last time the Scots faced the Danes, they were outclassed 2-0 in Copenhagen in September, courtesy of goals from Daniel Wass and Joakim Maehle.
But Clarke’s men showed steel in responding to that setback by winning five in a row and Cooper backed the team to gain revenge against the Danes in front of a packed-out Hampden.
That would see Scotland seeded for the play-offs in March as the nation aims to reach its first World Cup since 1998.
‘We took a hit that night in Denmark,’ Cooper admitted. ‘We had a crazy five or ten minutes in the first half, which weren’t up to our standards.
‘But we made a good ding-dong of it in the second half and (Ryan Fraser) missed a good chance in the last five minutes.
‘Who knows what could have happened if that had gone in?
‘But we stuck to it after that game. The morale was there, the confidence was high. The boys had to go and get results and we have done that.
‘Hopefully we can get another on Monday and put that right.
‘You want to test yourself against the best nations in the world and Denmark are one of them.
‘They have had an unbelievable campaign. But it’s an important game for us.
‘We are looking to go and get a result because it would be unbelievable to be seeded.
‘It’s very important. The gaffer has made that clear to the group.
‘Being seeded is definitely on our radar and we believe it’s well within our reach.
‘We have to do everything we can to make that happen.
‘It’s down to us but we would definitely deserve a seeded spot if we achieve it. And this will be the second time we’ve sold out Hampden. It’s unbelievable.’
Scotland have seven players walking a disciplinary tightrope tonight.
Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour, Che Adams, Jack Hendry, Kevin Nisbet and Stephen O’Donnell are all a booking away from missing the play-off, unless Clarke succeeds in his aim of having the rules changed.
Cooper admits any of the seven who play will have a job blocking out the yellow peril they face.
‘The bookings will be in the back of their heads a bit,’ he said.
‘But we just have to go and put on a good performance. You just have to try and blank it out.
‘But we all know when the emotions are flying high, it’s hard to keep a lid on it sometimes.
‘It’s a bit of a bizarre rule. But it is what it is. Every nation is up against it.’
Cooper’s first ever Scotland call-up came against Denmark in 2016 under Gordon Strachan.
The Leeds United defender had to be patient to finally pull on a dark blue jersey but he is now loving being part of a successful squad that he describes as more of a ‘brotherhood’.
‘I had to wait another three years for my debut after my first call-up,’ he recalled.
‘I had to get my head down and hope that one day it would come.
‘I managed to make my debut under the gaffer and I’m very grateful for that.
‘It (the Scotland squad) feels different now. Success helps that. It breeds confidence throughout the group. The boys look forward to coming and it’s brilliant. The lads get on great.
‘When you come here, it’s like a brotherhood. We all feed off each other’s energy.
‘The mentality now is a confident one. We know we will turn up in these big games.’
Given the giant strides the national team has taken under Clarke, Cooper is now daring to dream of gracing a World Cup alongside Elland Road team-mates like England midfielder Kalvin Phillips.
He said: ‘I’m the captain at Leeds United and I’m proud of all the boys. But five or six years ago, these players weren’t there.
‘We were so far off international football it was unbelievable.
‘We have had success at club level and it’s taken us on to the international stage.
‘It would be unbelievable to face some of my club team-mates in a World Cup.’