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Attendance: 20,699
Scotland national football team
Euro Champ Qualifying | Group Stage
Oct 13, 2019 at 5pm UK
 
San Marino national football team

6-0

McGinn (12', 27', 45'), Shankland (65'), Findlay (67'), Armstrong (87')
FT(HT: 3-0)

Steve Clarke: 'Scotland must look forward'

Steve Clarke: 'Scotland must look forward'
© Reuters
Scotland find themselves four points adrift of third-place Cyprus in Group I.

Steve Clarke has called on Scotland to focus on what is ahead of them rather than looking backwards as they bid to end their European Championship qualifying campaign on a high.

Scotland find themselves four points adrift of third-place Cyprus in Group I after losing their last four matches, conceding 13 goals in the process.

But Clarke's side have time to reverse their fortunes and restore confidence in the camp before the crucial Nations League play-offs in March, with three group games remaining – starting with San Marino's visit to Hampden Park on Sunday.

With a third-place finish in the group and the chance to qualify for Euro 2020 via next year's play-offs still possible for Scotland, Clarke is keen to look forward instead of dwelling on their recent defeats.

Steve Clarke's Scotland still have the chance to reach Euro 2020 via March's Nations League play-offs
Steve Clarke's Scotland still have the chance to reach Euro 2020 via March's Nations League play-offs (Ian Rutherford/PA)

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, he said: "The only way to turn the corner is to win matches.

"We can keep looking back and beating ourselves up or we can say 'OK, everything that we want to achieve is still in front of us'.

"That's the way I have to look at it. If you look at the possibilities, we have to go and win our next three games to finish third in the group – that's still in front of us.

"If we win those three games we'll get the positivity back around the place that we're all striving to get.

"And if we do that we're going into the play-off games in March, hopefully with two matches to secure qualification for Euro 2020.

"So everything is still in front of us, no matter how bad it's been or how disappointed we are – we still have everything to play for."

Following Scotland's most recent defeat – Thursday's 4-0 loss in Russia – Clarke called on his troops to ensure that was the "lowest of the low".

He wants his players to learn from that result as they look to get back on track.

"What's gone is gone, we have to learn from it," added Clarke. "I think in adversity you always learn more about people sometimes than when things are positive.

"So we have to learn those lessons, stick together as a group and we have to turn the corner. And what better way to turn the corner than the game tomorrow night."

Jon McLaughlin will start for Scotland on Sunday
Jon McLaughlin will start for Scotland on Sunday (Tim Goode/PA)

Clarke said it was always his intention to make changes for the meeting with the group's bottom side, regardless of recent results, as he announced Sunderland goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin would come in for David Marshall on Sunday.

He added: "One that will be a definite change – and it was a pre-planned change – David Marshall will change and Jon McLaughlin will play.

"Because I need a second goalkeeper with more caps, more experience to play. That was always planned."

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Peter Grant pictured on March 12
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Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Cyprus Cyprus00000
2 Georgia Georgia00000
3 Norway Norway00000
Q Scotland flag Scotland00000
Q Spain Spain00000

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q France France00000
2 Gibraltar flag Gibraltar00000
3 Greece Greece00000
Q Netherlands Netherlands00000
5 Ireland Rep. Ireland00000

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England00000
Q Italy Italy00000
3 Malta flag Malta00000
4 Macedonia N. Macedonia00000
5 Ukraine Ukraine00000

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Armenia Armenia00000
Q Croatia Croatia00000
3 Latvia Latvia00000
Q Turkey Turkey00000
5 Wales flag Wales00000

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Albania national flag Albania00000
Q Czech Republic Czech Republic00000
3 Faroe Islands Faroe Islands00000
4 Republic of Moldova Moldova00000
5 Poland Poland00000

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria00000
2 Azerbaijan Azerbaijan00000
Q Belgium Belgium00000
4 Estonia Estonia00000
5 Sweden Sweden00000

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bulgaria Bulgaria00000
Q Hungary Hungary00000
3 Lithuania Lithuania00000
4 Montenegro Montenegro00000
Q Serbia Serbia00000

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Denmark Denmark00000
2 Finland Finland00000
3 Kazakhstan Kazakhstan00000
4 Northern Ireland flag N. Ireland00000
5 San Marino flag San Marino00000
Q Slovenia Slovenia00000

Group I

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Andorra flag Andorra00000
2 Belarus Belarus00000
3 Israel Israel00000
4 Kosovo flag Kosovo00000
Q Romania Romania00000
Q Switzerland Switzerland00000

Group J

TeamPWDLPTS
1 Bosnia Bosnia H'vina00000
2 Iceland Iceland00000
3 Liechtenstein flag Liechtenstein00000
4 Luxembourg flag Luxembourg00000
Q Portugal Portugal00000
Q Slovakia Slovakia00000


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