STEVE Clarke is ready for the real action to begin at last after Scotland beat Luxembourg 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up match.
After an encouraging 2-2 draw with Holland in Portugal last Wednesday, a Che Adams goal against the 10-man home side at the Stade Josy Barthel set the Scots up nicely for their European Championship opener against Czech Republic at Hampden Park on June 14.
Saints striker Adams’s goal came in the 27th minute before Luxembourg defender Vahid Selimovic was shown a straight red card for a ‘last man’ foul on Lyndon Dykes.
It is the second time Adams has scored for Scotland, in his fourth appearance, since declaring his allegiance to represent the nation earlier this year.
Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour, who came on at half-time for his second cap, had to go back off after a shuddering challenge but Clarke revealed the 19-year-old was “fine” as he looked forward to Scotland, with just two defeats in 16 games, making their first appearance at a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup finals in France.
The boss said: “We had lots of chances. Lyndon Dykes is a little bit disappointed in himself that he didn’t get the match ball to be honest, he had so many chances.
“Che had a few as well. It was nice to work with the two strikers. I wanted to have a look at them in one of the two games so it was nice to have a look at them.
“I wanted to have a look at a different combination in midfield with John McGinn and Scott McTominay and that was interesting and there was more game time for some of the players that required it.
“So, good exercise, good training camp, two good friendlies and I can’t wait for next week. We are in a good place.”
After the opener against Czech Republic, Scotland travel to Wembley to play England before returning to Glasgow to face Croatia.
The former Scotland defender said: “We are going try to be on the front foot as much as the opponents allow us. We are playing good teams so at times we might suffer without the ball.
“But when we have the ball, we are going to be on the front foot and create chances like we did tonight and against the Dutch the other night. We look forward to it. It is a tournament that has been a long time coming and we want to make the most of it.”
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