Steve Clarke warns Scotland not to underestimate Haiti after New Zealand rout
· Yahoo Sports
Steve Clarke believes Haiti’s routing of New Zealand could be useful as a means of dispelling Scottish arrogance towards their first World Cup opponents. The 4-0 win for Haiti in Florida turned heads in Scotland, when a victory for Clarke’s team over the 82nd-ranked team in the world seen as essential for progression from a Group C that also includes Morocco and Brazil. Scotland take on Haiti in Boston next Saturday.
“They were good the other night, I think you could see that,” said Clarke. “We have a terrible habit, not just in Scotland but the UK in general, of looking at these nations and thinking they are not very good or looking at where they are ranked in the world. They play in a different section of the world. Maybe their section is really good.
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“I think if you watched them play the other night, they were much better than New Zealand. Big, strong, physical. And not only big, strong and physical but they are also technical. They have good players who play in good leagues. I was never under any illusion it wasn’t going to be a tough game. It is probably nice that some people get to see how they played the other night. It is going to be a difficult game for us.
“You can’t say it’s ‘free-style’ because the structure of their team is actually pretty good. And their athleticism to get around the pitch makes that structure quite difficult to play against.”
Clarke’s staff were in attendance as Haiti defeated New Zealand. Scotland, who also had a training base in Florida, have now switched to New Jersey where they will take on Bolivia in a friendly on Saturday. Scotland’s preparations for a first World Cup appearance since 1998 were hampered by the injury sustained by Billy Gilmour against Curacao last weekend, which ruled the Napoli midfielder out of the tournament. Yet Clarke insists he cannot alter plans on account of potential fitness setbacks.
“Do you want to wrap them in cotton wool and [they] don’t train?” Clarke asked. “You need to work. Injuries are part and parcel of football. When it happens, especially when it happens in the circumstances it happened to Billy, it is really disappointing. Everybody has got to take a deep breath and move forward again. That is what we will do.”