Steve Clarke explains why he’s taking 43-year-old with just 225 minutes this season to World Cup

Steve Clarke’s three goalkeepers for the World Cup have made a combined seven club appearances this season.

The Scotland boss named his final 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament on Tuesday.

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Although Ross Stewart’s inclusion over Oli McBurnie caught the eye, the goalkeeping situation also remains a talking point.

Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly will be Clarke’s options between the sticks in North America.

Meanwhile, a younger training goalkeeper will also join the squad for the tournament.

At 43-years-old, Gordon is the oldest member of the side, having won the first of his 83 caps aged 21 in 2004.

The Hearts stopper has played just 225 minutes across three appearances this season, with all of those coming in January.

Gordon has been sidelined with a shoulder injury since February, with the issue ruling him out of the previous Scotland squad two months ago.

Clarke explains squad selection

However, Clarke is confident the veteran keeper will be fit in time for the tournament after naming him in the squad.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, the Scotland boss explained: “Always difficult when you have goalkeepers not playing regularly.

“As long as they are working to their maximum in training, you feel they can come in and play for a number of games.

“We’ve had good reports back from Hearts, he’s training very well, he assures us he’s fully fit.

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“He’s shown tremendous resilience. He deserves to be there. If he was to struggle, we have the option to change them.”

Gordon was not part of the Scotland squad for Euro 2024 but started both of their final two World Cup qualifiers in November.

Falkirk’s Scott Bain had been included in Gordon’s place in March but missed out on the final 26-man squad.

Meanwhile, Zander Clark was called up in September but was not selected by Clarke this time around.

Scotland’s World Cup fixtures

Scotland will prepare for their first World Cup appearance in 28 years with two pre-tournament friendlies.

The Tartan Army will provide a send off to the squad against Curacao at Hampden Park on May 30.

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After arriving in the USA, Scotland then face Bolivia on June 6 in New Jersey.

Clarke’s side begin their World Cup campaign against Haiti on June 14 with kick-off at 2am BST.

They will also face Morocco and Brazil in group C as they look to reach the knockout stages for the first time.

The top two sides in the group automatically progress, with the eight best third-placed nations also advancing to the last 32.

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