As the nation begins to get excited, it is hard not to spare a thought for Andy Considine following Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad announcement.
Clarke’s 26-man pool left no room for Aberdeen defender Considine, who has been a fixture in the squad since winning his maiden call-up as a late replacement at the age of 33 last October.
Having racked up more than 500 games for Aberdeen, Considine could have been forgiven for thinking his national team opportunity had passed him by.
It was instantly clear Clarke had not brought Considine into the squad to make up the numbers, however, as he pitched the veteran defender in for his first cap in the Nations League match against Slovakia.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been involved in a Scotland set up. But I suppose it’s just always believing that one day you would maybe get the call.”
A brilliant interview with last night's debutant, Andy Considine.
(via @ScotlandSky)pic.twitter.com/FJ3lntMLaP
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) October 12, 2020
After becoming Scotland’s oldest debutant since Ronnie Simpson at the age of 36 in 1967, Considine excelled as part of a backline which kept a clean sheet to help record a 1-0 victory at Hampden Park.
With Considine earning another run out to help the Scots triumph by the same scoreline over Czech Republic just days later, it seemed as the Banchory-born defender was in the national fold to stay.
His two fine performances merited inclusion in the crucial three-game camp in November, which included the penalty shoot-out triumph over Serbia that secured Scotland’s place at this summer’s finals.
Although Considine was not on the park that night his influence on the group could be felt. He was at the heart of the celebrations captured by video footage, which showed the squad dancing to Baccara’s “Yes Sir, I can Boogie” in tribute to Considine’s own stag do video which had surfaced a number of years previously.
With the 1977 hit having been quickly adopted as an unofficial Tartan Army anthem, Considine was made to very quickly feel at home within the national team set-up. His performances, when he was called upon, had clearly earned the respect of team-mates and national team supporters alike.
Considine was back in the side for the 1-0 defeat to Slovakia three days later, however, that remains his last cap, despite him being included in the most recent squad for three World Cup qualifiers in March.
His lack of game time on that occasion, partly owing to the recall of fellow defenders Grant Hanley and Jack Hendry who have made the final squad, may well have prepared Considine for the setback.
The phone call from Clarke will still have been a difficult one for him to take, just as he dared to dream of being part of Scotland’s first major tournament outing for 23 years.
Clarke has urged Considine – along with fellow omitted players such as Leigh Griffiths, Callum Paterson and Lawrence Shankland – to be ready in the event of any drop-outs through injury or illness prior to the Scots’ opening match against the Czechs on June 14.
Should Considine find himself called upon, he has already proven he is a more than reliable deputy at short notice – as Clarke will have taken note of.
Having now turned 34, it may be that Considine’s national team days are behind him though. If that is the case, nobody could dispute the part he played in helping Scotland end their hoodoo.