CRAIG Gordon insists Scotland will go into their make-or-break World Cup qualifying double-header with confidence despite the loss of Stuart Armstrong and captain Scott Brown to injury.
And the Celtic goalkeeper admitted John McGinn and Callum McGregor might just be the men to step up in Brown and Armstrong’s absence.
McGregor was given a late call-up to Gordon Strachan’s squad yesterday. On Saturday, he and McGinn scored a double apiece in Celtic’s 2-2 draw with Hibernian at Parkhead.
Gordon insisted the Scots can still claim the two wins they need to qualify for a play-off slot by winning their Group F clashes against Slovakia at Hampden on Thursday and away to Slovenia on Sunday.
“We have players who can come in and cover,” he said. “We’re feeling good. We have plenty of quality.”
On McGinn, who has four Scotland caps, Gordon said: “John was good against us. He’s not too dissimilar to Scott although he plays a wee bit further forward and carries a bit more of a goal threat than Broony.
“In terms of breaking up play and getting the team moving in the right direction they are alike.
“There are not too many players that play the game like that. We’re not blessed with combative midfielders so he’s given himself a good shot at coming in for Scott.”
Turning to Celtic team-mate McGregor, Gordon added: “His finishes against Hibs were both brilliant. He was so calm. Every time he is called upon he sticks them away. He is just so reliable.”
Gordon will win his 49th cap against Slovakia, a milestone he never thought he would reach after having a two-year chunk taken from his career by a cruciate ligament injury that threatened to put him out of the game for good.
The 34-year-old said: “To get my 50th Scotland cap in a game of this importance will be huge for me. I was stranded on 40 when I got injured and to get another 10 after that seemed like a million miles away.
“That was part of the reason I came back to football with Celtic. I wanted to get back to that level. At one stage, I’d have been delighted with one more cap. Just to be able to say that I had come back and done well enough to play for my country one more time, that would have been enough.
“But to go and get another 10 to make it to 50 and get into the Hall of Fame is amazing. I think I’m right in saying that I will only be the third goalkeeper to do that, after Jim Leighton and Alan Rough.”
On Scotland’s chances of getting that play-off slot, Gordon added: “It’s still a difficult task but we have given ourselves a chance. The next game with Slovakia is the more important one and hopefully we’ll have a big home crowd behind us.
“Slovakia are a really good side. They gave England a scare in their last game and we are going to have to play really well to come out with the win. But with everyone behind us and the way the team is playing now, we’ve given ourselves a chance.”
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