The failure to add more goals against the second lowest-ranked side in the competition is likely to gnaw away at those old enough to remember the World Cups of 1974, 1978 and 1982 when Scotland exited on goal difference.The flip side is the Scots are just one good performance away from making history by progressing to the knockout stages for the first time.With 32 of the 48 nations going through, a point against either Morocco or Brazil - who drew 1-1 on Saturday night - will almost certainly guarantee progress.
Three points could well be enough if the goals against tally is low.Might that mean we see a more cautious approach in the next two games?Clarke went with two strikers against Haiti and former Scotland skipper Scott Brown expects one to drop out for the remaining Group C matches."I think [midfielder] Ryan Christie starts in both of them," he said.
"I think we end up going back to one up front and we'd be a little bit more compact in the middle of the park."Ryan was fantastic when he came on. He'll keep the ball, gives you that extra bit of legs and he fights for you as well."Are we going to have as much possession, as many opportunities against Morocco and Brazil?"Neil McCann reckons a lone striker is the answer and suggests Lyndon Dykes is best suited to the role."He gets knock-downs, he holds it up for Scott McTominay and John McGinn to get beyond," McCann said.Another former Scotland winger, Pat Nevin, also expects a change of system, but reckons Clarke will opt for an extra central defender."A 4-4-2 doesn't suit us, the midfield is left completely wide open," he said."I think we need a back three.
Morocco are so fluid and fast in attack. A back four against what they've got is difficult."Winning ugly was a theme in Scotland's qualification journey. The "jobby performances" - McGinn's words - in beating Greece and Belarus hardly set the pulses racing, but Scotland got what they needed from those games.They will have to improve against Morocco and Brazil, of course they will.
Those sides will not be as erratic as Haiti if they get the same sort of opportunities in the final third.But the platform is there now. The nightmare scenario of a potentially fatal blow in game one has been avoided and Scotland are up and running.Clarke will be hoping his big players can show a bit more of their class than we saw in Boston, but he will take precious points in Group C in whatever form they come."We're the third best team in the group, that's just the way it is," said former Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam."We're going to need to be better with the ball, especially against Morocco."But we talk about resilience, good heart, we've got bundles of that, and we're going to need it for the next two games."Win ugly, draw ugly.
Whatever it takes to crash through that World Cup glass ceiling.
