Veteran Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon expressed that qualifying for his first World Cup at 42 has made all the struggles he faced throughout his career worthwhile, revealing that coach Steve Clarke persuaded him not to retire last summer.
The Hearts goalkeeper has overcome significant injuries over the past two decades and contemplated his future at the end of the previous season before committing to another year with his club.
Although he hasn’t yet played this season for the Jambos, Gordon, who debuted for Scotland in 2004 and will turn 43 by the time next summer’s tournament begins, was called into action during a thrilling campaign finale against Greece and Denmark.
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“It’s truly emotional,” he shared with BBC Scotland after the thrilling 4-2 victory over Denmark that secured Scotland’s first World Cup appearance since 1998.
“It’s been a long journey—over 20 years in this camp, striving for this moment, with failures along the way and some tough nights, but I doubt I will ever experience something quite like this again.”
“It’s incredible to be part of this. It’s going to take some time to fully appreciate the next step. I nearly hung up my boots in the summer.”
“Steve Clarke was the one who encouraged me to give it another year; he might need me. I could have missed out on this. That one moment tonight makes all the disappointments, the hard work, and all the years of effort worth it.”
“After playing 700, 800 matches, that one moment is everything.”
Scott McTominay‘s thrilling overhead kick kicked off the scoring early, while substitute Kieran Tierney secured a stunning finish from outside the box to give Scotland a 3-2 lead in stoppage time.
Kenny McLean then clinched a memorable Scottish victory with a lob over Kasper Schmeichel from halfway, scoring with the last kick of the match.
Clarke praised the brilliance of his team’s goals.
“Scott McTominay’s overhead kick is the best I’ve ever seen, and it might not have even been the best goal of the night!” Clarke remarked to BBC Scotland.
“There were many highs and lows. At times, I had to think of solutions and how to adapt. I realized we would need to go with two forwards at some point.
“It felt like the Danes had the upper hand at times. It seemed the right moment to make changes, regardless of whether they had 10 or 11 players.”
“I had a chat with Kieran before the first match; he’s crucial for me, one of my key players. Fourteen were involved in the playoff match.
“I told him, ‘Aaron Hickey can’t handle back-to-back games; I can see you coming on at right-back and performing strongly for us.'”
“I didn’t picture the goal happening… but as the ball made its way back to him on his left foot, I sensed he would score.”
“When Kenny struck it, I was initially like, ‘What are you doing?!’ But as I saw it travel, I thought, ‘That’s going to score!'”
Information sourced from PA was incorporated into this report.