Scotland v Belarus 2026 FIFA World Cup, WM, Weltmeisterschaft, Fussball Qualifiers Andy Robertson of Scotland during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Group C match at Hampden Park, Glasgow UK Newspapers OUT Copyright: xFredxPalmerx FIL-22351-0159
Scotland manager Steve Clarke has lavished praise on winger Ben Gannon-Doak following a commanding 4-0 victory over Bolivia in New Jersey.
The £25m Bournemouth wide man delivered a scintillating performance, shaking off the concerns Clarke had raised after a sluggish display against Curacao just days earlier.
Gannon-Doak had looked uncomfortable and unconvincing in the first half of last Saturday’s match at Hampden Park, prompting Clarke to issue a public challenge to the young winger.
The response in New Jersey was emphatic, with Gannon-Doak setting up Che Adams for a first half double to help put the match well beyond reach.
Lawrence Shankland and Scott McTominay had already given Scotland an early two-goal cushion before Adams added his brace to complete a dominant victory.
Clarke said: “Yeah, he was really good tonight. Ben did himself a power of good today. He’s been working well all week in training.”
The Scotland boss also offered context for Gannon-Doak’s earlier underwhelming performance, explaining that enthusiasm had got the better of the winger at Hampden.
Clarke added: “I think the game last week at Hampden, he was so excited to be back on the pitch that his game ran away from him a little bit. But we know what Ben can give us and what he can bring.”
The result served as the final preparation ahead of Scotland’s Group C opener against Haiti in Boston next weekend, and Clarke was broadly satisfied with the performance.
Despite blistering temperatures approaching 90 degrees at kick-off, Clarke said: “There were no injuries, a good performance and we got the result. It’s not often they give me everything I’ve asked for so I’m pleased with that.”
The manager acknowledged that the 4-4-2 formation Scotland used is still being refined, having only recently been introduced with a double striker partnership.
He said: “We had some good moments today but obviously there were some moments I saw where we could have done a little bit better. We’ll work on that next week and hopefully we’ll get a similar performance next weekend.”
When pressed on what specific issues he intended to address ahead of the Haiti game, Clarke was characteristically guarded and light-hearted in his response.
He said: “Yeah, do you want me to give you the whole dossier and we can Haiti, Morocco and Brazil? No. I think I’ll just keep that to myself.”
Clarke admitted the performance had given him welcome but complicated selection decisions heading into the tournament’s opening match.
He said: “I’ve got some fantastic problems now. We had a really good first half then I turned around to my bench and the changes we made were good.”
Clarke also highlighted the importance of Scotland’s clean sheet, noting the team had been eager to put a solid defensive display together after a run without one.
He said: “They wanted a clean sheet because it’s been a while and it was nice to get one.”
Clarke pointed to the volume and quality of chances created as a positive sign for Scotland’s prospects in the tournament going forward.
He said: “The creation of chances was good tonight and if you create good chances we’ve got players on the pitch who will score goals.”
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