Scotland Men's Football Team

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Lennon Miller will line up for Scotland Under-19s against Wales today. But should he instead be in Steve Clarke's main squad for the Nations League visit of Croatia on Friday night?

At 18, Miller already has more than 50 club appearances under his belt and is the most exciting young talent at Scottish football right now.

Among those who believe he should be fast-tracked to a full Scotland cap are Sunday Mail chief football writer Scott McDermott.

"He should have been involved in this squad," McDermott told the BBC's Scottish football podcast.

"I just think exposing him to that environment at a young age would have done him the world of good. Just bringing him in, having a look at him, having the other players see him in training as well, letting the boy know himself the standard that he's got to get to.

"There's not many friendly games in international football now so you don't really get many opportunities to blood these guys."

Miller's first-team experience at a tender age is the exception rather than the norm in the current Scottish game. A report by the Scottish FA earlier this year concluded that clubs in Scotland are failing to bring through enough young players.

"I do think it's a cultural problem," said McDermott. "There does seem to be a fear about throwing young players in early.

"I think young players need two things. The first one is a given and that's talent. The second one isn't and that's opportunity. These boys need a chance to play in first teams.

"A few years ago in Motherwell's academy, Miller played alongside Bailey Rice, who is at Rangers currently. If you ask most people, at that time Rice was on a par if not maybe even better than Miller.

"But look at the two of them now, the progress they've made. Rice, who's been in and around the Rangers first team, has never quite had an opportunity. It feels like he's playing catch-up now. So yeah, talent and opportunity."

Assistant boss John Carver says Scotland's spirits were lifted by the draw with "frustrated" Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, and now it is "time for a win" when Steve Clarke's side face Croatia at home and Poland away in the coming days.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Craig Gordon is convinced Hearts and Scotland team-mate Lawrence Shankland will soon be back to his goalscoring best.

Shankland has netted just once for the Edinburgh side in 18 matches this season after hitting 59 across his first two years at Tynecastle.

Despite his barren run, the 29-year-old striker has been recalled to Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for their upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Portugal.

Goalkeeper Gordon, who is expected to start the double-header with Angus Gunn still out injured, said of Shankland: "Everybody knows what a good goalscorer he is and sooner rather than later that will come back.

"I have been training with him over the last few weeks and I can see in training he is giving absolutely everything. At times his touch has been really good and he has been scoring goals in training.

"It just hasn't materialised in matches but I have absolutely no doubt he will be back scoring goals very soon. He is too good a player for that to last for any length of time.

"It's great that he is here and I am sure the goals will be back before too long."

Scotland assistant John Carver also has full faith in the 29-year-old.

"When you're a good player and you’re a goalscorer, eventually that barren spell happens," Carver said.

"We all know what he's about. He's a goalscorer, he gets between the posts, he plays inside the 18-yard box. If he has to play for us or start or come on, that's what we want him to do and we’ll encourage him to do that.

"The good thing is, he's actually getting into those positions to actually try and score goals. It's just not coming off for him now, where it did last season and the season before that.

"So, everybody's in full support of Lawrence. We love him to bits and the players around him understand it."

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Scotland assistant John Carver was in optimistic mood as he talked to the media in the build-up to Friday's Nations League game with Croatia.

Here are the key points.

• Carver says the return of experienced players like Jack Hendry, John McGinn and Stuart Armstrong is "refreshing" and "encouraging" considering performances have been good without them.

• Che Adams' injury is "a blow" considering the striker came into the last camp full of confidence after making a good start with Torino after his summer transfer.

• Similarly, midfielders Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour were energised by their "fresh start" with Napoli.

• Carver loved to see Cristiano Ronaldo, "one of the world's best footballers... coming off in a huff" after Scotland's draw with Portugal last time out.

• He says Scotland "were close to getting something in Croatia as well" in the 2-1 defeat prior to that.

• Croatia are "a top side" but Scotland will not approach the game with any "fear" as they caused them problems last time.

• Carver thinks Scotland have shown they are narrowing the gap with the top teams and just need to take the next step and record a win.

• Although Scotland are bottom of their group, Carver believes two wins in their final two games would give them the chance to finish second if other results go their way.

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Bologna and Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson, 25, has revealed that being released by Rangers, for whom father Derek and uncle Barry had played, at the age of 14 still hurts and helps motivate him to push for more success. (Record), external

Scotland winger Ben Doak admitted he is "loving" his time on loan to Middlesbrough from Liverpool after the 18-year-old winger provided two assists in the 5-1 thrashing of Luton Town. (Scotsman - subscription), external

Gianfranco Zola backs old club Napoli to win Serie A with Scotland duo Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay in their ranks. (Sun), external

Everton manager Sean Dyche has thrown down the gauntlet to Nathan Patterson to end the injury woes that have plagued the 23-year-old Scotland right-back since leaving Rangers. (Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke discusses Lawrence Shankland's inclusion in the latest national squad, despite only scoring once for Hearts so far this season.

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After a scintillating run of form, that included captaining his club in a cup semi-final at just 18 yesterday, some onlookers thought Lennon Miller might have won his maiden Scotland call-up today.

He is certainly on Steve Clarke's radar, but the Scotland head coach explained his decision to allow the teenager "to grow", rather than be called up for the upcoming matches against Croatia and Poland.

"It's good for Lennon, it's good for his club," Clarke said. "He's another young one that everyone wants to hype and push.

"It's important to let young players to grow. Let's just allow Lennon a little bit of space and time to grow."

Clarke spoke similarly about Ben Doak, 18, not all that long ago before calling him up for the Euros squad - which he missed through injury - and the Nations League campaign, in which he has won four caps.

"You want to have as many difficult choices as you can, you want to have as many good players as you can, so the more young players coming through the better it is for everybody in Scotland," Clarke continued.

"It's already been mentioned in one of the reports that came out recently that we don’t produce enough young players, so hopefully we can in the future."

Instead, Miller will remain with the Scotland Under-19s over the international break, as they prepare for three home European Championship qualifiers against Wales, Liechtenstein and France.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Steve Clarke addressed the media after naming his Scotland squad announcement for the upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Poland.

Here's what he had to say:.

• Clarke expressed his glee at recalling players who missed out of the last camp, including "big character" John McGinn.

• He said performances in the previous four Nations League matches have been good, but wants to get more points on the board.

• Clarke referenced Lewis Ferguson's return for Bologna but said in terms of longer term injuries, it’s better for them to get minutes at their club so they are ready to go for the Scotland in March.

• It's a chance to see Cieran Slicker "up close and personal" given he is no longer eligible for under-21s.

• The head coach pointed out "the pathway" from the under-21s to the full squad and highlighted the journey made by Connor Barron, Ben Doak and Tommy Conway.

• Clarke confirmed Che Adams injury - which he sustained at the weekend - will be assessed by his club Torino. He's named four strikers in the squad so no one is on standby.

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Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson made his return from a six-month injury lay-off in Bologna's 1-0 Serie A win over Lecce.

The 25-year-old suffered a cruciate ligament injury in April that ruled him out of Scotland's Euro 2024 squad.

Ferguson came on for the final few minutes of Bologna's win, helping the Italian club see out their first home victory of the season.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke names his squad on Monday for the final two Nations League games against Croatia and Poland later this month.

Scotland defender Kieran Tierney is nearing a return to fitness at Arsenal. (Record), external

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Tierney, 27, is "looking sharp". (Herald - subscription), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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Scotland midfielder Stuart Armstong's "pedigree" and "quality" are now shining through after struggling early on at Vancouver Whitecaps.

That's the verdict of Canadian football podcaster Alexander Gangue-Ruzic, who says Armstrong was still in "pre-season mode" when he signed but is now showing his talent.

The former Dundee United and Celtic playmaker joined the MLS side at the start of September after leaving Southampton as a free agent.

The 32-year-old is playing alongside Vancouver fan favourite and fellow Scotland cap, Ryan Gauld, who scored a hat-trick in the wildcard round 5-0 win over Portland Timbers to guarantee a spot in the play-offs.

In their opening play-off game on Monday evening, the Whitecaps lost 2-1 against Los Angeles FC.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, Gangue-Ruzic said: "It's unique for Armstrong because he signs in September and here that's the run-in.

"It's booking play-off qualification, one of his first games was playing in a cup final because the Whitecaps had reached the final of the Canadian Championship, and it was clear he wasn't up to speed.

"And that's not his fault. He signs here, he's in pre-season mode.

"I know he'd been training with Brentford, I think he'd mentioned just trying to keep up to speed and he's dropped right into [a squad with] guys who've been playing since February together for months. And it took a while.

"He was struggling, he didn't look fit, he had some injuries.

"But I will say he's really come along lately, his last two games have been fantastic.

"You're starting to see the quality that you were expecting when he was signed, the pedigree that he has.

"And I think that's exciting because there's no doubt he fits perfectly into this team when healthy, when fit, and it took a while for those things to come together."

Scotland left-back Josh Doig is happy learning under former Italy defender Fabio Grosso at Sassuolo and says the country now feels like home. (Sunday Times, print edition)

Scotland midfielders Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour - along with the rest of Napoli's new signings - have been ordered to become fluent in Italian as soon as possible. (Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli via Football Transfers), external

Billy Gilmour had an 88% pass success rate while fellow Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay's header laid on the winner for Gio Di Lorenzo in Napoli's 1-0 win over Lecce on Saturday. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Scotland forward Jacob Brown says it was heartbreaking to suffer an injury that prevented him from trying to help Luton Town avoid relegation and missing Euro 2024 and that he still has a long way to go to recover full fitness. (Sunday Mail, print edition)

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.