Scotland still have the team to take on Spain—Dykes

Scotland still have the team to takes on Spain—Dykes

EURO 2024 Scotland still have the team to take on Spain—Dykes

Stephen Oladehinde 16:41 - 27.03.2023

Steve Clarke's men began their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a 3-0 victory over Cyprus on Saturday and are expected to play their second fixture against Spain.

Spain will be visiting Hampden on Tuesday with Steve Clarke's team having a much more difficult task. Lyndon Dykes believes Scotland have every reason to think they can surprise Spain and put themselves in a prime position for a shot at qualifying for the Euro 2024 tournament.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Dykes believes in his team togetherness

Striker Dykes is sure that his team has developed a sense of togetherness that should allow them enter the encounter with no fear despite Spain's opening 3-0 victory over Norway.

Speaking in an interview, Dyke said, “The mindset should be that we can win every game we play, I’ve said that since I came into the Scotland set-up.

“We’ve got great players who play in the Premier League, probably the best league in the world, and we’ve got great depth, so we need to be positive and make sure the crowd are behind us and that make it a hard game for Spain.

“It would give us a major boost going forward in the whole competition if we can win this game. If you can pick up six points in the first two games, it’s going to be a major step forward, especially against a team like Spain.

“It won’t be easy though. We have to be focused and carry out the game plan.

“What we’ve built as a team and the togetherness in the group has got us through games and games like this against big teams is when we need it the most.

“Being at home with the crowd behind us, we have to make sure we bring that on the night.”

Dykes happy to be back with the boys

In the Euro 2024 qualifying tournament, Scotland defeated Cyprus in their opening group-stage match, and Dyke's Saturday substitute appearance was crucial to their victory. Che Adams was forced to withdraw from the team due to an injury, therefore the QPR player will likely start as the main striker against Spain.

“I was really happy to be back out there on the pitch with the boys and in front of the fans after a little tough spell,” he said of his impact on Saturday. “I was just happy to help the boys get the result.

“I want to start every game for Scotland. I’ve done well since I came into the set-up but we’ve got great competition.

“Obviously Lawrence Shankland has come in now and he’s had a great season. If I get the nod on the night, I’ll be doing my best. The manager knows what I can bring, we’ve got a great relationship.”

Related content