Scotland’s 4-0 – A week after wrestling with pre-tournament doubts, Scotland ripped through Bolivia 4-0 in New Jersey, setting up their World Cup opener against Haiti in Boston and leaving Steve Clarke with “fantastic problems” over who starts.
Scotland didn’t just win their way out of doubt — they battered it into silence.
On a humid stage in New Jersey. Steve Clarke’s side posted a 4-0 victory against Bolivia. shipping a torrent of first-half goals before tightening up after the break. It was the clearest reminder yet that the team which had looked wobbly in March — blanking in successive friendlies against Japan and the Ivory Coast — now arrives in the World Cup ready to look at itself and believe.
Clarke, after the comprehensive win over the South Americans, summed it up as “fantastic, fantastic problems.” Not because anything is broken, but because so many pieces now look usable — even if it makes the decision-making brutal.
This performance came after a run of uncertainty, even if it was never quite that simple. Two years earlier. Scotland had limped to a one-goal win in Luxembourg as they finalised preparations for the delayed Euro 2020. only for the return to international football to feel like a let-down. The momentum in the run-up to Euro 2024 never caught fire either: a narrow win over Gibraltar and a draw with Finland only strengthened the feeling that the finals were arriving at the wrong time. And so it proved.
Now. the week leading into the tournament feels different — physically and psychologically — with Clarke saying it is the best shape Scotland have been in on the eve of a tournament since he arrived in 2019. Up to last weekend, Scotland had scored four goals or more on only five occasions since taking charge.
The contrast sharpened further because of what happened just before this Bolivia game. Last Saturday’s 4-1 win over Curacao ensured the players boarded their charter to Florida with renewed belief. Then Scotland pushed that confidence another step in New Jersey, where they scored four without reply.
The tactical shift is part of what made the scoreline land so heavily. Clarke had veered between formations — 3-5-2. 3-4-2-1 and 4-2-3-1 — but an orthodox 4-4-2 has been the key to happiness across the past week. Scotland looked too open at times against Curacao, yet against Bolivia they looked far less vulnerable to counterattacks. That solidity showed up on the pitch as the players appeared more comfortable with what they were asked to do out of possession.
Once the plan was working, the goals arrived with brutal timing. Che Adams did the damage at the sharp end. scoring the second of his goals as Scotland’s attack kept finding ways through. After the opener from Shankland — headed home — Scott McTominay drilled in the second, and Adams added his double. By the time the half-time whistle sounded, Scotland were almost scoring at will.
Even at half-time, the momentum felt ready to spill straight into next week’s opening match in Boston against Haiti. Clarke insisted afterward that Scotland still had plenty to work on — but now they would do it from a position of strength.
The questions for Clarke are mostly of the “right kind,” but they are still questions he cannot dodge. The easiest way to see it is to look at how little the manager could afford to lose in the two halves. The first-half display was scintillating; the second-half game-management from a much-changed team shut Bolivia out. Whatever the heroics early, Clarke wasn’t going to let a comfortable lead turn into a waste of opportunities.
At the back, the selections are more straightforward. Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry were more cohesive against Bolivia than John Souttar and Scott McKenna were against Curacao. With Aaron Hickey and Andy Robertson assured in the full-back areas, Clarke can plan with confidence there.
In goal, Craig Gordon did nothing wrong in the first warm-up game. The suspicion is that Angus Gunn will keep his spot purely because he kept a clean sheet behind Hanley and Hendry.
Up front, though, the decision-making has turned into a puzzle built out of instinct and form. The Adams-Shankland partnership was striking during the first-half explosion, with their skillsets complementing each other. Lyndon Dykes had done well when paired with Shankland seven days previously, but Adams simply did better.
From Clarke’s point of view. the midfield and the bench are where the competition tightens — and where matchday conditions will matter. With heat and humidity to contend with. plus VAR and water breaks lengthening the duration of the matches. the importance of the five substitutes cannot be overstated.
Ryan Christie’s case is at the heart of it. The Bournemouth midfielder deserves to keep his place after an excellent display in Scotland’s final friendly. In the heat of Harrison, he played a key role in the opener by feeding the overlapping Robertson. He didn’t force the play, and he made key interceptions. Clarke might be tempted to go deeper with Christie. where he is featured frequently for Bournemouth. but the competition from Lewis Ferguson and Kenny McLean makes the final call harder.
Ferguson was outstanding against Bolivia, and McLean didn’t put a foot wrong when he came on. If Clarke chooses a defensive midfielder based on Haiti’s counterattacking reputation. giving one of those two the nod looks logical. McTominay also starts — he was frighteningly good, strolling past Bolivian opponents and showing his full range of passing.
The biggest “fantastic problem” is that Clarke probably has to disappoint someone — someone who. in a different week. might have been guaranteed a starting place. The sight of John McGinn warming up in Boston-ready terms presented the clearest quandary. It’s inconceivable. surely. that Aston Villa skipper McGinn won’t start against Haiti. given no player has contributed more to the Clarke era. But no player who delivered a near flawless first half deserves to drop out either.
There’s also a strong argument for keeping Ben Gannon-Doak in the team. His performance on the right wing against Bolivia was frightening: he lacked subtlety against Curacao. but he was composed and effective here. Time and again, his pace destroyed Bolivia. He set up Adams for his second, and he made good decisions throughout. In a game Scotland simply must win, his inclusion from the start feels essential.
Christie. meanwhile. may end up as the epitome of the problem Clarke is dealing with — not because he did anything wrong. but because selection is now a luxury built from quality. The Bournemouth man would be entitled to feel wronged if he’s the odd man out. but he’d understand it wouldn’t be a slight. He’d still have a key role from the bench.
As Scotland settle into their training base in Charlotte, much can still happen before Clarke finalises his decisions. One thing, though, looks settled: they will head to Boston later in the week feeling it is their moment.
Scotland Steve Clarke Bolivia Haiti World Cup opener Che Adams Lawrence Shankland Scott McTominay Ryan Christie Ben Gannon-Doak Lewis Ferguson Kenny McLean Angus Gunn Andy Robertson Aaron Hickey New Jersey Boston