Shankland brace helps Scotland cruise past 10-man Curacao at Hampden Park
Shankland shines with double as Scotland ease to win in first of two pre-World Cup friendlies after early set back
Scotland stepped up their World Cup preparations with a comfortable 4-1 win over 10-man Curaçao at Hampden, but the afternoon was not without concern for Steve Clarke ahead of the finals.
In the first of two warm-up fixtures before ending a 28-year wait for World Cup football, Clarke rotated his squad heavily and initially saw his side fall behind to a moment of real quality from Tahith Chong.
The Sheffield United midfielder stunned Hampden in the 17th minute, plucking the ball from the air on halfway before surging forward past John Souttar and Scott McKenna, before finishing clinically past Craig Gordon.
Scotland had started steadily, with George Hirst heading wide from an Andy Robertson delivery before the captain himself flashed a long-range effort just off target. But Curaçao, managed by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat, looked sharp on the counter and made their early dominance count.
The game turned in Scotland’s favour in the 37th minute when Jurgen Locadia’s reckless challenge on Aaron Hickey was upgraded from yellow to red following a VAR review.
However, the mood inside Hampden dropped just before the break when Billy Gilmour pulled up injured and was forced off - and it has now been confirmed that the Napoli midfielder will miss the World Cup.
His replacement, Findlay Curtis, quickly got things back on track for Clarke’s side. The youngster making just his second appearance in a Scotland jersey popped up to score his first international goal, latching onto a Kenny McLean pass before drilling low into the far corner to level the match before half-time.
Clarke made further changes at the break, introducing Tyler Fletcher for his Scotland debut alongside a raft of substitutions, and the second half quickly became a one-sided affair as Lawrence Shankland took centre stage.
Fresh from sealing his move to Rangers, the striker underlined his case for a World Cup starting role with two goals in five minutes. First, he hit the back of the net after a Ryan Christie cutback, before doubling his tally with a composed finish off the post after being picked out by Lyndon Dykes.
Shankland might have had a hat-trick but was denied when clean through on goal, while Christie himself added a fourth from the penalty spot after Curtis was brought down inside the box.
It sealed Scotland’s first home friendly win in a decade and offered plenty of positives, but the loss of Gilmour cast a shadow over an otherwise productive afternoon.
Attention now turns to the final warm-up clash with Bolivia in New Jersey on June 6, before Scotland open their World Cup campaign against Haiti a week later.