Steve Clarke has lauded Scott McTominay’s stunning overhead kick that helped send Scotland to the World Cup after a dramatic 4-2 victory over Denmark on Tuesday.
The Napoli midfielder left a packed Hampden Park stunned with his acrobatic opener, which set the tone for a night of high drama against the Danes.
“Scott McTominay scored the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen and it might not have been the best goal of the night!” Clarke told BBC Scotland.
Substitute Kieran Tierney curled in a brilliant finish from outside the box to edge the Scots 3-2 in front in stoppage time.
Kenny McLean then sealed a famous Scottish triumph when he lobbed Kasper Schmeichel from the halfway line with the last kick of the game.
“It was a lot of emotions. High and low. At times, you’re looking for solutions and thinking how to change it. I knew at some stage we’d have to go two up front.
“I felt the Danes were dominating us a little. It seemed like a good time [to make the changes]. Whether they were 10 or 11 [men], we were going to do that.
“I spoke to Kieran before the first game. He’s a key player for me, one of my men. I’ve got loads of them. Fourteen were involved in the play-off game.
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“It’s emotional,” he told BBC Scotland after the dramatic 4-2 win over the Danes which sealed the Scots’ place at their first global showpiece since 1998.
“I said ‘listen, Aaron Hickey can’t do back-to-back games, I can see you coming on at right-back and doing very well for us’.
“I’m not sure I envisioned the goal… but when it was rolling back to him on his left foot, I knew he would score.
“When Kenny hit it, I thought ‘what are you doing?!’ but when I saw it in flight, I thought ‘that’s going to go in!'”
