Scotland manager Steve Clarke has long faced criticism for favouring the same players and failing to plan adequately for the national team’s future generations.
That reputation made his latest selection decision all the more surprising, handing teenager Tyler Fletcher a place on the plane to the World Cup within 24 hours of his international debut.
Fletcher had accumulated just 17 minutes of first-team football for Manchester United across the entire season before being called into the Scotland squad this week.
The situation arose after Billy Gilmour suffered a devastating knee injury during Scotland’s 4-1 victory over Curacao at Hampden Park on Saturday.
While many anticipated Lennon Miller would be brought in to replace Gilmour, it was Fletcher who ultimately boarded the flight from Glasgow Airport with the rest of the squad.
Clarke had initially called Fletcher up as a training player before pitching him in from the bench for his international debut against Curacao.
Fletcher is the son of former Scotland captain Darren, who was present in the stands at Hampden to watch his son represent the country for the first time.
While Darren Fletcher never appeared at a major international tournament with Scotland, his 19-year-old son has already qualified for one after just 45 minutes as a full international.
Born in Manchester, Tyler represented England at under-16 level before committing to Scotland throughout the under-16, 17, 18, 19 and under-21 age groups.
Tyler has a twin brother named Jack, also a midfielder, with both brothers having excelled as long-distance runners during their childhood years.
Unlike Tyler, who has grown stubble to help people tell the pair apart, Jack has chosen to represent England and currently plays for the England under-19 side.
Tyler typically operates in a deeper midfield role compared to Jack, who is more often deployed higher up the pitch.
Both Fletcher twins began their footballing journeys in Manchester City’s academy before their father Darren was appointed as Manchester United’s technical director in March 2021.
Two years after that appointment, United paid a combined fee of £1.55 million to bring both twins to Old Trafford from City.
Tyler made his United debut as a second-half substitute during a 2-0 win over Tottenham in February, describing the occasion as the “best day of my life.”
He featured on Michael Carrick’s bench for the majority of remaining games that season, earning a late substitute appearance in a final-day 3-0 win at Brighton.
Fletcher also collected the club’s Under-21 Player of the Year award, underlining his progress through the ranks at Old Trafford.
His Scotland teammates and the coaching staff have reportedly been impressed by how well Fletcher performed since first joining up with the national squad this week.
That strong showing off the bench against Curacao was enough to convince Clarke that Fletcher had earned his seat on the flight to the United States.
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