Craig Gordon: Excitement and World Cup at 42, Scotland qualifies!

The experienced Scottish goalkeeper, Craig Gordon, expressed his satisfaction at achieving qualification for his first World Cup at the age of 42, an achievement that, according to him, compensates for the difficulties he has faced throughout his career. Gordon, who currently plays for Hearts, revealed that coach Steve Clarke convinced him not to retire in the summer. After considering his future at the end of last season, the goalkeeper decided to extend his contract with his club for another year. Despite not having played with Hearts in the current season, Gordon, who debuted with Scotland in 2004 and will turn 43 before the final phase next summer, was called up for the exciting matches against Greece and Denmark.

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It’s very emotional. Many years have passed, about 20 years on this team, trying to get there, some failures along the way, some bad nights, but I don’t think I’ll ever have one as good as that to be a part of it. After the dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark, which secured the Scots’ place in their first global tournament since 1998, Gordon shared his feelings. The goalkeeper highlighted that he was close to retiring in the summer, but Steve Clarke’s intervention gave him a final push. Gordon emphasized that that moment was worth it, considering all the disappointments and the hard work of years.

In the match, Scott McTominay scored a spectacular overhead kick early on, while Kieran Tierney scored a brilliant goal from outside the area to put Scotland 3-2 up in added time. Kenny McLean sealed the Scottish triumph with a goal from the middle of the field, leaving Kasper Schmeichel with no options. Coach Clarke praised the quality of his team’s goals, highlighting McTominay’s incredible goal and Tierney’s impact.

Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen, and it might not even have been the best goal of the night!

Steve Clarke

Clarke also spoke about the emotions of the match and the tactical decisions he made, including the change of strategy and the confidence in key players like Tierney.