Scotland manager Steve Clarke says he has an enviable selection dilemma ahead of his team world cup first game against Haiti after another impressive friendly victory.
A week after beating Curacao 4-1 at Hampden Park, Scotland produced another convincing display with a 4-0 victory over Bolivia in New Jersey.
Lawrence Shankland continued his good form by opening the scoring after five minutes with a well-taken header before setting up Scott McTominay who doubled the lead midway through the first half.
Che Adams scored twice before half-time as Scotland took complete control against the South Americans.
With the result assured at half-time, Clarke made a series of changes after the break, giving valuable minutes to almost every member of his team.
Clarke welcomes selection headache
The Scottish coach admitted that competition for places is making it difficult for him to make decisions, but described them as the kind of problems every coach wants.
“Fantastic problems,” Clarke said.
“The first half was really good and then, when I looked at the bench, I knew that the players coming in would maintain the level.
“When you make so many substitutions, naturally the pace changes a little, but the players came out with the goal of keeping a clean sheet.
“It’s been a while since we’ve gotten one, so it was a pleasure.
“Before the game I talked about what I wanted: no injuries, a good game and a positive result.
“You don’t always get everything you ask for, so I’m happy.”
The goals encourage before the World Cup
Scotland have often faced criticism for their lack of goals in recent years, but eight goals in their last two games have given encouragement to a demanding group consisting of Haiti, Morocco and Brazil.
Clarke believes the most important aspect has been the number of opportunities his team is creating.
“People often say we don’t score enough goals, but we’ve already scored four in consecutive games,” he said.
“The key is to create chances and we have done well again.
“If you create opportunities, we have players in the team who are capable of taking advantage of them.”
The new system is still a work in progress
Scotland have recently switched to a 4-4-2 formation with two central forwards, and Clarke believes there is still room for improvement despite the encouraging results.
“We’ve spent some time this week working on team form,” he said.
“The 4-4-2 is something we have moved towards recently and there is still work to do.
“There were some really good moments, but there were also areas where we can improve. We will continue to work on that this week and hope to put together another good performance next weekend.”
Scotland begin their World Cup campaign against Haiti before further Group F matches against Morocco and five-time champions Brazil.
A place in the last 16 would be a historic achievement as Scotland have yet to advance beyond the group stage at a World Cup.
