Scotland’s World Cup-bound players enjoyed their final training session on home soil ahead of the squad’s departure to the United States on Sunday.
The mood was visibly upbeat as the national side prepares for its first World Cup appearance in 28 years, since France 98.
Players including Kenny McLean, Lawrence Shankland, Lyndon Dykes and Grant Hanley were seen laughing and joking on the Lesser Hampden pitch during the session.
The squad trains ahead of a warm-up friendly against Curaçao at Hampden tomorrow before the serious business begins across the Atlantic.
Scotland face Haiti on June 14 and Morocco on June 19, both at Boston Stadium, before a Group C clash against Brazil in Miami on June 24.
Manager Steve Clarke, who signed a new deal yesterday extending his tenure to the 2030 World Cup, watched his squad closely as he works to finalise his best starting eleven.
Clarke is expected to rotate his selections throughout the friendly against Curaçao, who are managed by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat.
Hibs defender Grant Hanley, who was substituted during the final Premiership match of the season against Motherwell, appeared to be moving freely despite a knee concern.
Hanley told reporters: “I came off against Motherwell but it was more precautionary than anything else, so good to go.”
The defender acknowledged Scotland’s recent major tournament record, saying: “I don’t think it’s a secret that we would like to have performed better and progress further in the last couple of tournaments we’ve been to.”
Hanley pointed to the squad’s collective experience as a source of confidence, adding: “A large part of it has been together for a while, certainly played together for a while, so we’ve got that wee bit of experience that we can lean on.”
He continued: “There will be loads of wee bits and pieces that we can pick up on over the last however long this squad’s been together to keep trying to continually improve.”
Scotland have never progressed beyond the group stage at a major tournament, a record McLean has spoken openly about wanting to change.
McLean said last week: “It’s something where we want to create more memories together. We’ve already created great memories, but we want to go one step further.”
He added: “We don’t just want to be there to make up the numbers. We want to do more than we’ve done before, and no Scotland team has ever got out of the group, so that’s our first hurdle. We’re confident we can do it.”
McLean also spoke warmly about the togetherness within the camp, saying: “It’s a very similar squad to what we’ve had over the last few years. We’ve been successful together, and we’ve really grown as a squad. I’ve said it numerous times, but I’ve never been involved in a changing room like it.”
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