If anyone is still betting against Craig Gordon, they are brave souls. The Hearts and (still) Scotland goalkeeper has beaten the odds after being ruled out so many times that his return to the international setup after a horrific leg break – and at the age of 41 – should come as little surprise to anyone.
After all, he came back from a worse situation. But the real surprise is that even now, as he cautiously re-enters the field for his club in cup competitions, despite all the adversities, he appears to retain the goalkeeping ability and standard that have been the hallmark of a magnificent career. many setbacks.
Gordon is once again back to his old routine, training with his country as part of a four-man goalkeeping squad – specially expanded by Scotland head coach Steve Clarke for friendlies against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland.
While Gordon’s previous rivals for the gloves were David Marshall and Allan McGregor, he now has Angus Gunn from Norwich City. Also on this trip are Motherwell’s Liam Kelly and his Hearts teammate Zander Clark; Interestingly, he is above him in the Tynecastle rankings but arguably behind him in the calculations for his country.
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If Gordon had been playing regular first-team football at club level, his inclusion in Clarke’s European Championship final squad would have been out of the question. But the experience he gained over 74 caps for Scotland will certainly make him a very useful player in Germany anyway.
He certainly still retains the hunger to prove that he belongs at such a level, and he intends to do just that these days when he has to work under Clarke’s supervision. His last cap came in November 2022, but who could argue that if he were handed the gloves against the Dutch in Amsterdam on Friday night, he would put on a display that belied the fact that he wasn’t there?
“There’s a lot more to go,” Gordon told the Scottish Football Association’s in-house media team.
“There is always the next one.
“I’m always so happy to be back at this level and I want to continue that and get back to playing.
“I would love to play for the national team and this will encourage me to achieve this and play as much as possible.
There are still a lot of driving factors to make sure I do everything I can to continue playing to the best of my ability.
“It’s a great team to be a part of, I’ve enjoyed it throughout my career.
“This team is a really special team to be a part of at the moment. It’s something I’ve always been pushing to get back into, especially given how good the team is and the build-up to these Euros. “It’s great to be back and hopefully a I can stay here for a while longer. We all want to be a part of it and travel to Germany.
“This will be a big event for everyone and the nation. “As the goalkeeper for everyone on this roster, we all want to be a part of that plane and be on that plane to be successful.”
Despite many years of national service, another cruel twist of fate in Gordon’s career was that he lost his place as Scotland’s number one when the major tournaments ended due to factors beyond his control.
Marshall made his debut ahead of Euro 2020 and made crucial saves in the play-off penalty shoot-outs against Israel and Serbia to ensure he was first choice heading into the championship, and this time it was Gunn who has excelled since entering the field. in March last year.
But the first step for Gordon is to make sure he’s on the plane to Germany, after admitting that the last Euro is as insignificant to him as it is to the rest of the country.
“This will be even better,” he said.
“This was due to Covid and things were not as normal as they are now. It was a strange tournament. There weren’t many fans in the stadium and it will definitely be exciting.
“The fans will have a great experience. It’s a football country with a great history and teams. It will be huge to be a part of.
“Hopefully I can be a part of it and the fans can enjoy it and we can give them something to shout about.”
Gordon hopes he will get the opportunity in the here and now to really stake his claim in Scotland’s games over the next few days, and his belief in both himself and his team-mates remains unwavering.
“Our first game away from the home team, against another team that has qualified for the tournament, will be difficult,” he said.
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“We’ve done a good job away from home and the team has always prepared very well. We’re a tough team to beat.
“I expect us to go there and work on that side of our game. We always believe we can get results against anyone.
“It will be a good test for us and coming back to Hampden in a game where we will attack a little more and try to score some goals and entertain the fans.
“It’s a good balance between the two games for everyone and we’re all hoping to get out there.”