Steve Clarke feels Scotland must confront the wider issues which are hindering the national team’s chances of making a serious impact at a major tournament.
The 3-0 loss to Brazil in Miami saw Clarke’s side finish with three points and a minus three goal difference in third place in Group C.
They are now odds-on to slide into the bottom four in the rankings of third-placed sides and be eliminated by the time the other groups conclude.
While the post-mortem has yet to start, the manager has already been criticised for his selections and tactics with the underwhelming displays of his key men contributing factors to what looks likely to be a 13th group stage exit at a competition.
But, after being given the runaround by a Brazil side with far superior technical ability and athleticism, Clarke feels the main reason why Scotland continually fall short of expectations is staring us in the face.
‘The short answer to that is yes,’ he said when asked if he could put a finger on what went wrong. ‘I think when you see the physicality, the power and the technique of both Morocco and Brazil, you can see that we have to try to do something of our own.
Clarke reckons Scotland lack the ‘physicality, power and technique’ to be able to compete
‘We have to try and be better at producing young players that can grace the world stage.’
Before the team travelled from Miami back to their training base in Charlotte, Clarke said he was resigned to them now being eliminated after suffering a second successive loss.
Scotland must wait on other results to see if they remain in the top eight in the list of third-placed teams, but the manager saw little cause to be optimistic after the flat performance against the South Americans.
‘It was a very disappointing performance,’ he said. ‘If you give away chances like we did, you are going to be punished. And that’s what happened.
‘Our chances at the moment? I think we are probably going home.
‘The first thing the players have to do is go away and compute their performance and why we lost the game in the manner we did. That’s the first thing we have to do and then we can worry about the rest later.’
Clarke’s men fell behind inside seven minutes when Scott McKenna was caught on the ball. Rayan closed him down and found Vinicius Junior who rolled the ball into an empty net.
Clarke reflects on a bruising evening in Florida as he takes to the field at full-time
The Real Madrid forward got his second in first half injury time when he headed home Bruno Guimaraes’ cross following Andy Robertson’s mistake.
Matheus Cunha removed all doubt about the outcome with a third goal on the hour mark.
‘I think it was self-inflicted,’ Clarke added. ‘Listen, we are playing a top-quality team and we know they are deadly in the attacking third of the pitch.
‘And we gave them for sure the first two goals and probably the third goal as well. We gave them those goals, but on the counterattack as well they missed a few chances, and Angus Gunn had to make some good saves.
‘It was then on us to try to create something in the second half. We got the ball in the box a number of times and created one or two chances, but nothing really clean.
‘When you look at Brazil’s attacking play in the final third of the pitch and when you look at ours, there’s really no comparison.’
Although his side faced a huge task to shock the five-time winners, Clarke felt his side didn’t come close to hitting their optimal levels.
‘We definitely didn’t play as well as we can play,’ he admitted. ‘But when you put yourself on the back foot, like we did against Morocco, you’re then relying on a bit of grit and determination to get back into the game against a really top opponent. And we didn’t manage to do that.’
Brazil superstar Neymar consoles Scotland midfielder Kenny McLean at full-time in Miami
Meanwhile, former England striker Ian Wright believes those running the Scottish game can do more to ensure the game punches above its weight.
Speaking on television after the team’s hopes were all but ended by Brazil, Wright said: ‘Laura (Woods) asked me the other day what Scotland can do next, and I think it goes a lot deeper than that.
‘When you look at Norway, a country the same size as Scotland, they’re averaging six or seven thousand in attendances on a weekly basis. Scotland are averaging 16 thousand. But Norway have managed to secure a broadcast deal worth £25million more a year than Scotland’s. Obviously, they’ve got a better commercial operation than Scotland.
‘But, at the same time, you look at Scotland and their raw materials. You look at amazing attendances, talent, storylines, grassroots participation. Someone in Scotland is letting down this country on a massive scale.
‘People are very proud of them all over the world, but they’ve got to do more. There’s got to be a bolder, braver vision for Scottish football.’
