Gordon in, Miller out: Clarke's bold Scotland call

The Gordon question

Craig Gordon is 43 years old and has had an injury-hit season at Hearts. Clarke is taking him to the World Cup anyway. According to Sky Sports, Clarke believes Gordon "deserves" his place despite the limited game time — a show of faith in experience over form that will split opinion before Scotland have kicked a ball in North America.

It is, on paper, a gamble. But Clarke has never been a manager who picks on sentiment alone, and Gordon's reading of the game and command of a dressing room are harder to put on a spreadsheet than appearances made. Whether that logic holds up in a tournament is a different conversation.

Curtis and Stewart: the ones to watch

Findlay Curtis gets his call-up — a winger whose inclusion signals Clarke is willing to back youth when the profile fits. Ross Stewart is also in, with BBC Sport describing him as a "big game scorer": the kind of forward you want around when the margins are tight and the occasion is large. Both names will be unfamiliar to casual observers outside Scotland, which is exactly the point — this is a squad with room to surprise.

The Miller omission

Lennon Miller is not in the squad. No explanation has been reported from Clarke's camp as of yet, but his absence is the sharpest talking point of the selection. Miller had been widely considered a strong candidate, and the snub will generate noise throughout the international window. Clarke has form for making calls that look strange in May and sensible in July — but he'll need to be right on this one.

He didn't mention Miller's name in his public comments. He didn't have to.