Che Adams: My regret on Scotland timing and how I might not be playing at Hampden at all

Che Adams has had his fair share of sliding door moments in an unconventional career path which has taken him from the ninth tier of English football to the brink of playing in the World Cup finals.

So it’s little wonder that the likeable 25-year-old is generally content to embrace the serendipity of that remarkable trajectory without spending too much time to reflect upon it.

But as he prepares to lead the line for Scotland in Wednesday’s momentous World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine at Hampden, Adams does admit he now wishes he had committed his international future to the land of his Edinburgh-born maternal grandmother sooner.

It was back in 2017 that then Scottish FA performance director Malky Mackay identified Adams’ eligibility but that initial approach was politely turned down as the striker continued to mull over his options.

He had already rejected the chance to play for Antigua and Barbuda, the place of his father’s birth, in their 2014 Caribbean Cup qualifiers before making two appearances for England’s under-20 side in friendly matches the following year.

Having finally taken the plunge and answered Steve Clarke’s call-up to the Scotland squad in March last year, Adams has established himself as a key member of the side and a firm favourite with the Tartan Army.

Now the Leicester-born player, who started his senior career with his local club Oadby Town in the United Counties League after being released by Coventry City as a 14-year-old, is potentially just two games away from bagging a place at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

“I can’t quite believe it,” says the £15 million Southampton striker. “It’s amazing, really, when you sit down and think about it.

“It’s hard in football to stop and