Steve Clarke says he is 'proud' after Scotland's Euro 2024 qualification

Scotland fans, here is a date for your diaries. Saturday, the 2nd of December, it's the draw for Euro 2024. It's in Hamburg and Steve Clarke's side will be there. They'll be in very high spirits heading into tomorrow's friendly against France because they know that they have qualified already with a couple of games to spare. We have got used to Scotland going really well this year under Steve Clarke, but let's underline, this is a terrific achievement and people around Europe will be taking notice. You said it, Nick, and given that usually it's the late drama that goes to the last game in qualification and we've all been there before with Scotland, this time, two games to spare, we can enjoy the friendly against France. It's absolutely fantastic, but it wasn't just because Spain beat Norway last night. Scotland won their first five games, 15 points. Yes, unlucky in Spain, the way it was going. Scotland might have got a draw or maybe even a win, the VAR decision, etc. Spain, in the end, winning it 2-0, but for Scotland, they had put in the hard work before that. Some crucial games when they beat Spain 2-0 in March at Hampden Park. Then, when they went to Norway, 1-0 down with only a few minutes to go and they end up winning it 2-1. What a turnaround that was. They were really key games and it showed not only an ability on the field, but a mentality and a character that this Scotland team has been building under Steve Clarke for the last three or four years. That means we can look forward to the draw. We can look forward to another Euros where Scotland want to put on a much better showing than they did when they were playing in Euro 2020. This is what Steve Clarke has had to say about qualification. Really proud of my players. Delighted for the players. They've put a lot of work in over the last four years in my reign as head coach. It's fantastic for them to be at the second major finals after such a long, barren spell for Scottish football. It shows that they understand that they have to work hard. Obviously, the last time we qualified for the Euros, it was through the play-off system. It felt a little bit like sneaking in the back door. This time, we can walk straight in the front door with our heads held high and look forward, hopefully, to a good tournament next summer. I'm not sure Germany's ready for five million Scottish people to turn up, but it seems like that. It seems that everybody you speak to says that they're going to be in Germany next summer. I'm sure it won't be five million, but we'll certainly take a big crowd. Obviously, we want to go there. We want to be successful in the tournament. What is success for Scotland? It's probably to be the first Scottish national team to come out of a group stage at a major competition. That's something that we can aspire to in the future, but lots of steps to take before we get to that. Not all good news, Luke, because Andy Robinson's not fit and he's not the only one. That's disappointing. He went off with that shoulder injury. As Steve Clarke always says consistently, it's now up to the club to determine what the situation is and how long he'll be out. We'll wait and see whether he'll be back for the doubleheader next month. That means it looks like Greg Taylor will come in because Kieran Tierney is already out. Greg Taylor is playing well for Celtic in the Champions League as well. He has that experience, so a good player to come in. Plenty of changes expected, Steve Clarke said, ahead of this game in Lille tomorrow. From Lille, thanks very much indeed.