In a bid to widen Scotland’s pool for the World Cup, a deluge of names were thrown Steve Clarke’s way. Give them a shot. What is the worst that can happen? You don’t know what you don’t know.

For a sign of how realistic he viewed some of those suggestions, he joked that FIFA require such a comically bloated preliminary squad before the 26-man party is announced, he may have to name himself as the 55th pick.

“But I’ll find 55, for sure… I’ll try not to forget anybody ” he said.

Falkirk’s Calvin Miller, Dundee’s Ethan Hamilton, Hibernian’s Josh Mulligan, Union Berlin’s Oli Burke. Those who have helped Hearts to the top of the Scottish Premiership: Craig Halkett, Harry Milne, Stuart Findlay. The Motherwell contingent who have been part of one of the most eye-catching possession teams in Europe: Stephen Welsh, Stephen O’Donnell, Paul McGinn, Elliott Watt.

In explaining his decision to overlook the latter two groups, Clarke suggested that their club’s managers, Derek McInnes and Jens Berthel Askou, had made both teams better than the sum of their parts. It is not an argument without merit but that is exactly what he has been tasked with achieving ever since he took charge of the national team in May 2019.

For four years, Clarke resolved that the best way to achieve that was by sticking to a back-three system. But, after Scotland’s zero-calorie performance in the Euro 2024 group decider against Hungary, he placed his faith in a back four.

The commitment seemed steadfast. Only once in the last 20 games had Clarke reverted back to his tried and trusted system, a 3-1 home defeat to Iceland in June 2025, but on Tuesday, he saw fit to revisit it once more in the 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast.

“I liked the shape,” Clarke said.

“I do like playing with a front two and sometimes that is difficult because I have so many good midfield players, and you are always tempted to try and get them into your side. I’ve said before that a back-five is a system that qualified us for two tournaments and then everyone suddenly became really negative about it.

Scotland’s Dominic Hyam, left, gets to grips with Ivory Coast’s Elye Wahi (Kate McShane/Getty Images)

“When I have the key personnel that I can put on the pitch, a back five, with the way we play, is a really good system for us, whether we play with a back five, one striker and two off the top. It’s a system that works for us.”

The challenge for Clarke is that, having effectively parted with that formation so long ago, the players only have warm-up games against Curacao and Bolivia in which to refamiliarise themselves with it before the World Cup gets under way.

Does it leave enough time for that system to be under consideration for the tournament?

“Yes, we have played it for the best part of five years. Every player who played in that system tonight has played there,” said Clarke.

“If we need to go with a four, we will go with a four. If we need to play a back five, we will go with a five. That will be decided depending on the nature of the opposition.”

The 33,000 fans who travelled down to Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday were certainly more buoyed by the energy and aggression on display than they had been in Saturday’s home defeat to Japan.

A major part of that was how well Scotland pressed with a wing-back system. It was how most of their chances were created as they went man-for-man all over the park as Che Adams and George Hirst combined well as a front two off the ball.

There were issues down Ross McCrorie and John Souttar’s side when defending that high but, as a formation, it at least gives Scotland a clear identity out of possession. The main problem they faced when playing with a four was getting pressure on the ball without leaving gaps down the side of the midfield. They were often caught in two minds.

These issues are rectified with a back five but it risks Scotland becoming impotent and not committing enough players ahead of the ball. Kieran Tierney showed, however, that he and Andy Robertson’s understanding down the left flank can be one of their key attacking weapons.

“I love that left centre-back position and I love playing with him,” Tierney told The Athletic in 2024.

“We’ve got that connection where we know where we’re going to be and if one goes, the other knows to stay. We’ll interchange or find each other with a long pass. That comes from playing with each other a lot.”

Andy Robertson looks on during Scotland’s loss to Ivory Coast (Kate McShane/Getty Images)

The logic of a 3-5-2, or a 3-4-2-1 as it has been used in the past, extends beyond just that left-side dilemma. It is that, in theory, the extra man at the back and the extra man up front will cover their weaknesses. Quantity will mask quality.

The idea falls down slightly when several key players are missing and the five strikers trialled look like they may not score even if they all played at the same time. It also highlights the risk in changing shape due to a lack of top-class centre-back and forward options. Rather than papering over the cracks, the team simply ends having fewer of the most talented players on the pitch.

That brings us to Ben Gannon-Doak. The Bournemouth winger is Scotland’s trump card: the one natural winger and the only player with pace who poses a threat in behind. But can he fit into a wing-back system? He could play on the right but that would then mean sacrificing Brentford right-back Aaron Hickey, who Scotland hope will be back playing before the summer.

Both players are more naturally suited to a back four and would offer a strong combination down the right wing, but Scotland need to focus on being better than the sum of their parts.

Ipswich Town’s Hirst is the only player who made a case that he helps achieve that. The 27-year-old is not perfect but he showed more in his locker than was known, throwing in a few impressive body feints for a cumbersome 6ft 3in striker. Though, for all he may have leapfrogged Adams and Lyndon Dykes, he showed a lack of composure when he found himself close to goal.

That remains the major concern. Come the end of the two goalless friendly defeats to Japan and Ivory Coast, can Scotland find the goals required? Clarke has two months to decide whether a back four or back three gives him the best shot of making the numbers work.