Steven Naismith called Belgium the ‘benchmark’
Classy Belgians the ‘benchmark’ not the acid test
by Roddy Speirs
The bare fact is that Scotland suffered their worst home defeat tonight since 1973.
There are those that want to see the worst case scenario and justifiably so. 4 -0 did not flatter the Belgians who are an excellent side. I understand those home fans who are feeling dejection and despair. Most international sides would be delighted to have just one player of Eden Hazard or Vincent Kompany’s quality. The current Belgian side is awash with as many as six or seven World class players.
Similarly, I would not criticise those fans concluding that manager Alex McLeish’s overoptimistic public assessment post match borders on the delusional.
The advent of the UEFA Nations League (UNL) will mean a significant reduction in the number of occasions when the Scottish Football Association will be able to decide their opponents. World class opposition like Belgium will be hard to come by when Scotland face an imposed diet of future opponents of the quality of Albania and Israel. It is therefore essential that the SFA take what opportunities they can to give players the experience of top class opposition.
There are also many who might say that such a heavy defeat was no preparation for Scotland’s next game against Albania in their inaugural match in the Nations League. However this game pitted a young Scotland team against one of the best teams in the world. In a post match interview striker Steven Naismith called the Belgian team “the benchmark”
If Scotland are successful in the UNL they will eventually have to meet sides of this calibre. The alternative is to accept that Scotland are to permanently languish in the lower echelons of world football where achievement is defined as beating the likes of Malta and Latvia.
An easy win over a lesser side would not have highlighted the shortcomings that the national side have to address if they are to improve.
Many also criticised McLeish for his somewhat upbeat assessment in post match interviews. One of his remarks that particularly caught the eye was:
“Belgium never really cut us open. The goals that they got were big gifts. Take those away and it’s looking a much brighter result. And we had some moments, we cut through Belgium a couple of times.”
That is an assessment that anyone who witnessed the game would find difficult to swallow.
But what is his alternative? To publicly slam his younger plays and undermine their confidence three days before a crucial game? His aim surely is to say what needs to be said to maximise the team’s chances in the game that matters.
Many criticised the selection of Belgium as friendly opponents
In a post match interview, new Scotland cap John Souttar acknowledged that the Belgians are one of the best teams in the world at the moment but more importantly he stressed that there were no points to be won or lost on Friday and the focus has always been on the Albania match.
“I think that it will be a completely different game ( against Albania) but that’s the big one. This one you get nothing at the end of it, but Monday is the big one.
“If we put in a positive result on Monday that’s the one that we have been striving for all week. That’s the most important one.”
Souttar is of course right.
Whilst I can understand the frustration of some of those who lashed out against McLeish on social media, the real test comes on Monday. Should Albania expose Scotland’s shortcomings in the way Belgium did and should veteran players make the same kind of rookie mistakes that the Scotland defence did, then there will be more serious questions to answer about McLeish’s selections and answers.
Until then judgment is reserved.
