Ben Gannon-Doak: Should Steve Clarke recall exciting youngster for vital Scotland vs Brazil clash?

Scotland will look to secure their place in the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time when they face Brazil on Wednesday night (UK time), but they’ll need to improve on their showing against Morocco.

The Tartan Army were unable to build on their 1-0 opening win over Haiti, going down by the same scoreline against Morocco on Friday – an early Ismail Saibari strike doing the damage.

That opening victory has still left Scotland with a great chance of progression. However, they cannot afford to take a heavy defeat against Brazil, lest they lose one of the best third-place spots. In fact, Steve Clarke will be plotting Scotland’s path to a result on Wednesday, and what he does with Ben Gannon-Doak could hold the key.

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Ben Gannon-Doak: Scotland’s one-of-a-kind

Scotland looked rigid and utterly predictable during the first hour of their clash with Morocco in Boston on Friday. The 2022 semi-finalists were able to hold the Tartan Army at bay with ease, with Scotland unable to break lines or progress the ball, playing everything in front of the Moroccan backline.

That all changed when Doak replaced Kieran Tierney on the hour mark. All of a sudden, Scotland had someone with the pace to stretch the Moroccan backline and keep their marauding full-backs honest, while Doak managed two successful dribbles (100%), three crosses and three touches in the opposition box in just 30 minutes on the pitch.

None of this yielded a goal for the Scots. However, you have to wonder how different the game could have been had Doak been there to pressure Morocco from the outset. After all, this was no fluke, with the 20-year-old arguably the most electric player on the pitch against Haiti, attempting six dribbles, creating two chances and putting two crosses into the box.

For all their quality midfielders like Scott McTominay, Lewis Ferguson and John McGinn, and their fight and industry, Scotland have no other player in their squad quite like Doak. His speed, fearlessness and unpredictability make him a one-of-a-kind commodity for Clarke.

Exploiting Brazil’s weakness

From Vinicius Jr to Alisson to the centre-back pairing of Gabriel and Marquinhos, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad is absolutely stacked with talent.

However, if there is one area of weakness, it is surely at full-back.

Douglas Santos and Danilo are the men expected to man those positions in Florida on Wednesday. Both players are advancing well into their thirties and playing outside Europe’s elite leagues — the former in Russia with Zenit, the latter in his homeland for Flamengo.

This could open up a potential avenue of attack for Scotland.

Whether it be Vinicius Jr, Raphinha, Matheus Cunha or Gabriel Martinelli, Brazil’s wingers are unlikely to do much tracking back. Doak can exploit this space and use his pace to go one-on-one with either full-back, while that speed also gives Scotland a pressure relief valve if they want to clear it long and let the former Liverpool youngster chase behind.

This could be a far more effective method of attack than relying on a moment of magic from someone like McTominay or McGinn, or trying to artificially generate an opening from a set-piece.

A risk worth taking?

While Scotland will naturally be on the back foot against Brazil, Clarke still has a decision to make when it comes to how he’ll approach this clash against the five-time world champions.

Even a defeat could still send Scotland through to the knockout rounds as one of the best third-place teams, as long as it’s not too heavy. A point would almost certainly do so.

With that in mind, Clarke may be in no mood to take too many risks, lest he open his side up to punishment against world-class opposition.

But we all saw in the first half against Morocco how ugly things can get for Scotland if they have no outlet. In truth, they were lucky only to be 1-0 down.

With that in mind, throwing Doak back in against the Brazilians and giving Scotland a punch to land on Ancelotti’s side might be a risk worth taking as Clarke looks to make history with the Tartan Army.

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