Whisper it but class of ’17 may be something to shout about
SCOTTISH football’s chequered history is punctuated by results which have given cause for the nation to momentarily stand tall and puff out its chest.
Defeating France home and away in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Beating then world champions Argentina in 1990. Myriad triumphs over England.
At underage level too, there has been no shortage of stolen moments. Our Under-19s reaching the final of the Euros in 2006. Most recently, our Under-20s beating Brazil in Toulon in June.
As joyous as the outcomes of all of the above were, more often than not they were victories built on toil and tenacity rather than any true technical superiority.
That was the single most striking facet of Scotland Under-21s’ win over the Netherlands at Paisley on Tuesday; in every sense — tactically, technically, even physically — Scot Gemmill’s young men were superior to a nation that for long enough simply seemed to be operating on a different level when it came to player development.
Let this be said: One match, one result and one performance — no matter how encouraging — proves nothing. Gemmill was fully entitled to reflect on the evening as ‘the perfect performance’ but Oliver Burke’s opener was the first goal for the dark blues in 614 minutes at this level.
The old wisdom containing the words swallow and summer springs to mind.
Nonetheless, much about the opening-night victory in the Euro 2019 qualifiers spoke to a more positive wider picture for the game here in general. One which suggests the different road that was taken by so many a number of years ago, such as the Performance School programme, is beginning to bear fruit.
Wherever you looked at the Paisley 2021 Stadium, the players who were most proficient at manipulating the football were clad not in orange but dark blue.
Anthony Ralston, a beneficiary of Celtic’s partnership with St Ninian’s High School, looked every inch the future right-back of the A team. Greg Taylor, the scorer of that winner against Brazil, also excelled on the opposing flank.
If Scott McKenna, John Souttar and Iain Wilson provided the solidity, the craft offered by Lewis Morgan, Stephen Mallan, Chris Cadden and Dominic Thomas suggested that our time in the technical wilderness is over.
‘I believe young Scottish players are judged far too much,’ said Burke, the main beneficiary of such sterling service on the night.
‘We have a very good and talented Under-21 team and throughout the younger generation. We are misjudged a little bit but people have to come and watch us play and they can see themselves that we have talent.’
My, do the Netherlands now appreciate that sentiment. With the exception of their central midfielder Frenkie de Jong, another superstar in the making at Ajax, the Dutch seemed devoid of ingenuity and energy.
Could it be that this was just an awful night for them? Or, as the evidence of the eyes suggested, were Scotland simply better in all departments?
The view of their manager Art Langeler, who doubles as academy director at PSV Eindhoven, was instructive.
‘They deserved to win and they were much better,’ he stated.
‘They have good players and fit players. We knew they would play tactically as they did but they were stronger than us.
‘If this is the level they reach every game, they’re going to do very well in this group. Every game is different but they made a good impression on me.’
While Gemmill’s main remit is to prepare players for the demands of the A squad, it would be plainly wrong to suggest that results don’t matter.
Without a goal at this level since Jason Cummings struck against Northern Ireland 18 months ago, Burke’s opener paved the way to a victory that sees Scotland already well positioned in a section containing Ukraine, Latvia and Andorra, as well as their next opponents — England.
‘It’s the perfect start and I’m so chuffed for the boys,’ said Burke. ‘I hope we can now carry things on.
‘We have a top team. We have talent all over the park and just need to make sure it continues coming together. We are still knitting together as a group but you can tell already after a week of training that we have a great chemistry within the squad.
‘We are all guns blazing for England. We are all very happy and the changing room is very lively. We are all looking forward to the next game.
‘We have to keep it going, keep working hard and the goals will come. You saw how patient we were in the first half against Holland. We had a few chances where it wasn’t falling for us and the end product wasn’t there.
‘In the second half, the game started to open up. The first goal broke Holland a bit and they became a wee bit sensitive and aggressive. They certainly didn’t like it. They started to get tired and didn’t like it when we were running a lot and putting balls in behind.’
In such moments, the sheer athleticism of Burke was apparent. Giving central defenders a yard of a start, he was winning foot races with something to spare.
Such power and speed over the ground is the reason he has already racked up £28million in transfer fees between RB Leipzig and West Brom.
Naturally, ambitions of adding to the five senior caps he has already won lurk just beneath the surface.
For now, though, back in England, back in dark blue and back on the scoresheet, the man who skippered the young Scots to a famous victory knows he is in a good place.
‘I’m just very happy to be playing and it’s about getting my confidence back as I haven’t been playing much,’ said Burke.
‘I have my eye set on the A squad but I need to concentrate on helping these guys in the Under-21 team and that’s my priority.
‘I really enjoyed being captain. I had the armband in Toulon even though I’m not usually the captain type and we did very well there.
‘I’m delighted to be back in England as it’s what I know. I’m just looking forward to kick-starting things again now.’