Interim head coach Michael McArdle ought to be admired for using his time at the helm as a chance to change things up a bit.
Only five players who started in Helsinki in December did so at Tannadice, while three who featured at all didn’t even make this squad.
It’s been quite the shake-up, and arguably one required, after the golden generation appeared to miss their golden hour by failing to reach a major tournament for the third time in a row.
But this group, littered with future stars as well as experienced players at their peak, appear a little in limbo.
Understandably, the players say they want to be in League A, testing themselves against the cream of the continent, but results would consistently show it’s quite the reach. When do the scuddings start to outweigh the learnings?
Should the Scots drop back into League B, which they’re on course to do, they’d then, in most cases, go into games as favourites against sides they simply are stronger than.
The message from the campaign in 2023, which ended with the calamitous thrashing at home to England, was that they believed they’d matured and improved against the top teams. Something which would prepare them for qualifying for the Euros.
That, obviously, didn’t come to fruition.
McArdle says the aim for now is to break in, and remain, in the world’s top 20. Scotland are currently 24th, while there are 12 European nations in that target bracket. On paper, that would suggest the Scots should be a League A side.
But since McArdle’s predecessor, Martinez Losa, took over in July 2021, only once have the Scots beaten a top-30 side in a competitive game – a 1-0 World Cup play-off semi-final against Austria more than two years ago.
Games like Friday offer up “valuable experience and exposure to international football” insists Cuthbert, but exactly what Scotland are gaining and where they are growing, remains up in the air.
