Scotland assistant manager John Carver has sent a message to the nation’s Rangers stars that ‘two or three’ spots in the Euro 2024 squad are ‘still up for grabs’.
Steve Clarke’s right-hand man has also claimed that there is still plenty of time for someone to come from nowhere like Lawrence Shankland.
The Rangers-linked striker – who has fired his way onto the plane to Germany and maybe even into the Scotland starting XI – has been signposted as a point of Tartan Army inspiration.
“We have a good idea (who is in the running for the Euro 2024 squad),” said Carver. “But we’re not going to talk about it yet because somebody could come out from behind the cupboard and just appear.
“Lawrence Shankland came in and he got his goal. He was consistently scoring goals in the league but he came on and scored the equalising goal in Georgia.
“For me, there might be another Lawrence Shankland coming from nowhere up on the rails and just appear.
“But if I’m being honest Steve has a rough idea, but there might be two or three places up for grabs and we’ll have to see who takes those spots.”
Rangers stars given Scotland squad hope
As things stand Rangers only have one representative in the Scotland squad but these comments will certainly be of interest to at least six players.
Whilst some might only have an outside chance, it’s clear that if any Scottish player starts to break the mould in the final furlong of the season they will be considered.
Could any of these names yet book themselves on the plane to Euro 2024?
John Souttar
Currently Rangers’ only representative in the Scotland set up, the 27-year-old defender has bounced back from a series of injuries to become an Ibrox mainstay.
We know John Souttar is highly thought of by Steve Clarke but there is substantial defensive competition for a place in the Euro 2024 squad.
Even with injuries to Grant Hanley (Norwich City) and Scott McKenna (FC Copenhagen), Scotland are well-stocked with the likes of Liam Cooper (Leeds United), Ryan Porteous (Watford), and Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq) also regulars in Steve Clarke’s thinking.
Going by John Carver’s Scotland comments, we reckon a defensive spot is up for grabs and John Souttar will have to maintain his form to keep it.
Scotland chances: 8/10
Ryan Jack
When the latest Scotland squad was announced, the absence of Ryan Jack raised some serious doubts regarding his Euro 2024 dream.
The Rangers midfielder, 31, is probably aiming for a final Scotland hurrah in Germany and it’s hard to begrudge him it given he missed the pan-European tournament in 2020/21.
Balancing Rangers and Scotland amid a persistent of run of injuries has disrupted Jack’s career and Philippe Clement has already admitted there will be conversations regarding his future.
Out of contract at Ibrox in the summer, at the moment Ryan Jack is just trying to get himself fit for the run-in and IF he contributes we are certain he’ll be in with a Scotland shout.
Scotland chances: 7/10
Robby McCrorie
The only other member of this list who can attest to being a regular in the Scotland squads, Robby McCrorie has been signposted as a future Rangers and Tartan Army number one.
You forget that the Ibrox academy goalkeeper is 26-years-old considering how elongated his introduction to the Rangers first-team has been.
Earlier in the season, Steve Clarke suggested that unless McCrorie gets greater first-team experience then he will find an SFA-sponsored ticket to Germany hard to come by.
With Jack Butland the bonafide Rangers number one as things stand, that’s a tall order but not impossible for the goalie who has been promised minutes by Philippe Clement.
Robby McCrorie is also competing for a place with Angus Gunn (Southampton), Liam Kelly (Motherwell), Craig Gordon, and Zander Clark (both Hearts).
Scotland chances: 5/10
Scott Wright
If we’re going to talk about players coming from nowhere and making the Scotland squad, then in a Rangers context Scott Wright is the obvious candidate.
The 26-year-old winger has been a rotation player at Ibrox since joining in 2021 and despite making some huge appearances – including in last week’s defeat to Benfica – he has yet to ever find the consistency or quality to earn a Scotland call.
When Scott Wright almost left Rangers for pastures new in Turkey last summer, the winger spoke openly about his Scotland ambitions.
Rangers’ wide areas are properly bandaged up and there will be opportunities in the weeks ahead – can Scott Wright grab his chance to impress ahead of Euro 2024?
Scotland chances: 3/10
Leon King
There was a moment only a couple of years ago that Leon King was set to be the next big thing in Scottish football and at Rangers.
The defender was cast into the Champions League limelight as a teenager as injury enveloped Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s doomed side.
It was a confidence-sapping first exposure to the big time for the Scotland U21 international defender but it didn’t stop links to the likes of Manchester United.
Since then, Leon King’s development has continued in the background but first-team exposure has been limited at Rangers and it’s a bit of a head-scratcher.
Still regarded as a very important player in the club’s youth department, can Leon King break back into the Rangers team and position himself as a Scotland wild-card?
Scotland chances: 2/10
Cole McKinnon
Philippe Clement has promised to trust his young players at Rangers and in recent weeks Cole McKinnon has been getting the nod amid a spate of injury issues.
Coming off the bench in Lisbon, and with the game poised in the Scottish Cup battle at Easter Road, it was a message that the Ibrox manager trusted the 21-year-old to make an impact.
Having just been called up for the Scotland U21s, it’s a tough ask for the former Partick Thistle loanee to get onto Steve Clarke’s radar but stranger things have certainly happened.
If the Rangers kid can grab the opportunities which come his way in the weeks ahead maybe we’ll see something happen but for the time being, Cole still has a lot to prove.
Scotland chances: 1/10
