LEIGH Griffiths delivered a couple of moments at Hampden in June that were of such a celebratory nature that one Scotland supporter felt duty bound to have a tattoo inked on his skin of the striker’s face as he wheeled away in delight after beating Joe Hart, the England goalkeeper.
For Griffiths, though, the expectation is that the indelible nature of his performance against England can act as further clarification that he can pen his name into the elite company of international football.
Former Scotland internationalist Stephen McManus was part of the national team who came close to taking the country back to a major tournament in 2007 under Alex McLeish and he believes that Griffiths will use his performance against England as the barometer of what he is capable of.
“People were questioning whether Leigh Griffiths can play at Champions League and international level as a lone striker,” said McManus.
“He can. He has answered that. He’s a goalscorer who can play in any sort of team.He’s the guy who can make the difference. When you have a striker like him in your side, all you need is half a chance and he will put it away.
“The strength of Gordon [Strachan’s] teams are the team as a whole. It’s not the one individual. But, when you sprinkle that bit of stardust it can make all the difference. “Leigh Griffiths has that. And he is used to playing in big games and pressurised situations.It means when you go to play for Scotland you aren’t overwhelmed by the occasion. You can take it in your stride.
“He’s the type of centre forward who probably thinks he can cross the ball and get on the end of it himself. That’s what it takes to be a top international-class striker. And Leigh has got that.”
For Scotland to be in with a genuine chance of securing a play-off spot, they would need to win their remaining four games in the group, beginning with Friday night’s meeting with Lithuania.
Falling out of contention will mean that another tournament will come and go without Scotland being represented, an absence that would mean a 22-year run with no invitation to football’s biggest parties.
And McManus conceded that there is always a feeling that Scotland are destined to always be the perennial team of also-rans, given the generations now who have no memory of the country at the finals of a major tournament.
“As much as you try to keep things low key, we haven’t qualified for a tournament for so many years and as a player you go through that same emotion.”
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