7 Scotland stars facing Euro 2024 heartache as ruthless Steve Clarke will be forced to get tough over Germany squad call

Steve Clarke insisted he wouldn’t be losing any sleep over his Euro 2024 squad selection just yet with about six months to go before he has to name his final 23 players who will be on the plane to Germany.

There is plenty of football to be played between now and then, there will be the inevitable injuries to players that will rule them out of selection and of course there is a quartet of Newcastle United stars who are all eligible for England and have Three Lions aspirations but who Clarke is seemingly keen on switching allegiances.

Will he be able to convince one, two, three or all four of Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Elliot Anderson and Tino Livramento? And if so who makes way? How long does Clarke even give those players to make a decision? There is certainly a lot to think about for Clarke - who was able to pick three more players for his Euro 2020 squad after UEFA increased the number due to Covid - and one thing is for certain - plenty of players will be left disappointed at missing out on the chance of a lifetime of representing Scotland at a major tournament.

Any international manager will tell you that letting down those unlucky players is the most difficult conversation but who, out of those under consideration, are most of risk of missing out? Here, Record Sport looks at the most like likely candidates.

Zander Clark

After making his debut against France the previous month, the Hearts man got the nod for the final two Group A qualifiers with Angus Gunn out injured and picked the ball out of the net five times over the two games and looked uncomfortable against Norway. Much will depend on Craig Gordon’s fitness but if Clark’s Jambos team-mate is back then he will likely mean he has reclaimed the gloves