Scotland ready to stop their opening day stumbles, Clarke says

Scotland ready to stop their opening day stumbles, Clarke says BOSTON, June 12 : Scotland must end their habit of making poor starts to major tournaments, coach Steve Clarke said on Friday, a day before his team take to the World Cup stage for the first time in nearly 30 years. Clarke, sounding upbeat ahead of Saturday's meeting with Haiti in Boston, said he was determined to have fun this year after struggling in the last two Euros tournaments when Scotland drew twice over a total of six matches and lost the other four. Scotland were thrashed 5-1 by hosts Germany in the opening game of Euro 2024 and at the previous Euros a 2-0 defeat by the Czech Republic - in their first match at any major competition since their previous World Cup appearance in 1998 - left them with too big a mountain to climb. "Obviously we know the last two tournaments haven't gone the way that we wanted them to go," Clarke, Scotland's coach since 2019, said. "We have another chance, and that's credit to the players that they keep qualifying for these major tournaments. It's great to be here, but we also want to do something special." Asked what he had learned from Scotland's opening match stumbles, Clarke said the Germany thrashing was easy to analyse: "Don't get humped," he said to laughter from reporters. Scotland will face tough opposition in the form of Morocco and Brazil in their two other Group C games but Clarke stressed the importance of respecting Haiti, who are ranked 83rd in the world by FIFA with Scotland 41st. Clarke said midfield playmaker Scott McTominay would be available on Saturday after an upset stomach but central defender Scott McKenna was out with a calf injury. He said the burden of expectation on Scotland after their 28-year World Cup absence would be felt also by Haiti, whose sole appearance in the competition was in 1974. "They are also a proud nation. They're going to be here 100 per cent committed the same as we are, and we know that they have qualities that can cause us problems on the pitch," Clarke said. Scotland captain Andy Robertson said he was determined not to leave the World Cup with the kind of regrets that dogged Scotland after their limp performance in Germany two years ago. "I think it's the most quality we've had in a Scotland squad for a long time," he said. (Writing by William SchombergEditing by Toby Davis)