Scotland’s defeat at the hands of Germany in the Euro 2024 opener was a sore one for Celtic duo Callum McGregor and Anthony Ralston to take.
The Celtic pair were left brutally exposed by Scotland’s tactical approach to the game as McGregor was strangely singled out by Graeme Souness for the huge defeat in Munich.
However, it was a night to forget by the Scots and with two games left in the campaign Chris Sutton has told Scotland boss, Steve Clarke, that there is a ‘good option’ at his disposal he could use against the Swiss and the Hungarians to help get him out of the group.
James Forrest could ‘wrestle’ control back for Scotland
James Forrest had a superb end to the season for Celtic. Just when it looked like Brendan Rodgers‘ side was struggling for an attacking option, Forrest was plucked out of thin air to help wrap up the league and cup double.
And Sutton believes the Celtic hero could do the exact same thing for Clarke in the final two group games of the Euros.
Sutton said [Football Daily], “Germany were very clever in terms of nullifying McGregor. Gundogan just followed him about and he couldn’t get on the ball.
“But we spoke about it before the game, Scotland had to get up the pitch. The issue is on the ball, in truth, Porteous is not good enough. Hendry is not good enough.
“They played with a flat back five and played into Germany’s hands in the fact that they could go and press Scotland high and they could lock on the midfield players.
“And then you have the centre-halves who just love roughing any player up. I mean, it was so difficult for Che Adams, but that was a massive problem.
“Hence why, he does have the option of playing James Forrest as a wingback against the Swiss and against the Hungarians where you think that Scotland may be able to wrestle a bit of control in that midfield, that may be a good option for him.”
Forrest’s experience and game management could prove crucial for Scotland if they want to create history this summer.
The Celtic winger is a big-game player and these next two don’t come any bigger. Make no mistake, the 5-1 hammering by Germany has put Clarke under pressure and the game against Switzerland is probably not classed as a ‘must-win’ yet, but it’s certainly one the Scotland boss cannot afford to lose.
And who better to call upon than Forrest? His big-game mentality is perfect for Wednesday night and he could offer Clarke that out ball that was badly missing against the hosts in Munich.
Forrest also gives an attacking threat and Scotland will need that if they have any ambition to show the world that they are a team who are not just there to make up the numbers.
