Zander Clark has got the taste for more Scotland caps after making his competitive debut in the 2-2 draw in Georgia.
With Angus Gunn injured, the Hearts goalkeeper got the nod for his first Scotland start ahead of Motherwell’s Liam Kelly.
Clark bounced back from the loss of an early goal to make several assured stops including one in the dying seconds following Tynecastle team-mate Lawrence Shankland’s stoppage-time equaliser.
The recognition has been a long time coming for the former St Johnstone player, who was tipped for a call-up long before he first broke into Steve Clarke’s squad in August 2021.
“I am immensely proud,” the 31-year-old said. “I was proud when I got the 45 minutes in France but to get the first competitive one means an awful lot.
“Representing your country is something you dream of as a kid and thankfully I have been able to do it.
“Hopefully I have done enough and I can try and get many more but I know it’s going to be a tough ask. But I am just delighted to eventually get to taste it and it’s something I want more of.
“On a personal level, delighted, as a collective there is obviously a bit of disappointment not to take three points from the game. But we said after it, when you can’t win the game, you just need to make sure you don’t lose it.”
Clark admitted he had to focus on the game rather than his own excitement after hearing he was in the team ahead of Kelly and Robby McCrorie.
“It was just in the pre-match meeting, the manager named the team,” he said.
“The three of us have worked this week in the build-up to it, so it was going to be a tough decision, I was just thankful I managed to get the nod.
“I was obviously delighted but you just need to put it to the back of your mind and concentrate on the game, which I thought I did.
“It’s a proud moment to see your name in the starting line-up but you quickly forget about that and it’s mind on the business.”
Clark showed strong hands to parry several efforts as Georgia displayed how they qualified for the Euro 2024 play-offs with an unbeaten Nations League record.
“As a goalkeeper you want to make saves that can help the team get a result,” he said. “I felt I had a couple of decent ones.
“Obviously you want to prevent the goals but credit to the boys, they made it stuffy for us, pegged us back twice and came back and got the draw in the end.”
The manager gave little away on his plans for the position earlier this week after allowing Clark and Kelly to share duties in France last month.
And the Hearts player is keen to continue in goal for Sunday’s final Group A game against Norway as the Tartan Army finally get the chance to celebrate qualification en masse.
“It will be a great game,” he said. More positive going into it on the back of not losing. Back in front of the crowd at Hampden will be joyous, I would imagine.
“We know it will be a tough game but if we play the way the manager and coaching staff want us to play, we have a right good chance of picking up three points.”
Dortmund have flown under the radar to reach Champions League final, says Terzic
Borussia Dortmund have benefited from going under the radar during their "unbelievable road" to the Champions League final, according to head coach Edin Terzic.
The Black and Yellow will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the showpiece on June 1, following a hard-earned 2-0 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain in the last four.
Dortmund came into this season on the back of a bitter Bundesliga title loss on the final matchday of the previous campaign, with a 2-2 draw against Mainz handing the title to Bayern on goal difference.
While Terzic's side have been unable to launch a genuine challenge on the domestic front this term - currently occupying fifth place and 24 points adrift of newly crowned champions Bayer Leverkusen - it has been a different story in Europe.
"There is always a team that no one has on their radar that reaches the quarter-finals or the semi-finals," he said. "We wanted to be the team that were not necessarily on anyone's radar. That road has been unbelievable."
Indeed, it has. Dortmund began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat at PSG and goalless draw at home to Milan, but recovered to top Group F before seeing off PSV and Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively.
The 1997 Champions League winners then produced a defensive masterclass across both legs of their semi-final with PSG, to reach their first final since 2013.
"After the second matchday, almost no one believed in us any more," said captain Emre Can, who made his 50th Champions League appearance during the second leg at Parc des Princes.
"We only had one point after two matches, but we kept believing and that was the most important thing. Keeping two clean sheets in two matches against PSG is no mean feat."
Mbappe admits 'I didn't do enough' following PSG's Champions League exit
Kylian Mbappe shouldered the blame for Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, which saw them exit the Champions League semi-finals 2-0 on aggregate.
Mbappe, who is set to leave PSG at the end of the season, was unable to inspire the Ligue 1 champions as they fell short in their latest quest to land the European crown.
The France captain registered a game-high three shots on target and 12 touches in the opposition box during the second leg at Parc des Princes, but his tally of just 51 touches overall was the second-lowest recorded by any PSG player.
And the 25-year-old admitted he should have made a more significant contribution towards his team's cause.
"I tried to help my team as best as I could, but I didn't do enough," he said. "I'm the guy who should score goals and be decisive. When things are good, I take all the limelight and when they are not, you have to take the shadow.
"That's not a problem. The first one who should have scored tonight was me. That's life, and we have to move on - me and the team."
PSG enjoyed the lion's share of possession (69.5 per cent) during the second leg and registered four times as many shots as their opponents did (30 to seven), hitting the woodwork four times.
"In decisive Champions League matches, when you're not effective in both boxes, it's difficult to get through to the next round," Mbappe added. "Even more so when we're talking about a final.
"We're certainly disappointed, but it's not all doom and gloom. We need to build on that and keep working, because I'm sure we'll get there."
Luis Enrique 'proud' of PSG despite Champions League semi-final exit
Luis Enrique expressed his pride at the efforts of his Paris Saint-Germain side, despite their Champions League exit at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
The Ligue 1 champions were knocked out in the semi-finals on Tuesday after a 2-0 aggregate loss to the Bundesliga giants, having hit the woodwork six times over the two legs - making it a record tally of 14 for the campaign - and managed 31 attempts at Parc des Princes.
PSG missed a golden opportunity to reach their second Champions League final, but it is not all doom and gloom after a season of transition with a new coach.
The Ligue 1 title is already in the bag with three matches remaining, and they have a Coupe de France final showdown with Lyon to come later this month.
"We were not inferior over the two legs, but football rewards those who score - not those who hit the woodwork," Luis Enrique said.
"My goal was to be fighting for all the titles. Tonight I'm proud of my team, of all the players."
PSG have now lost all six legs of their three two-legged Champions League semi-finals, after double defeats against Milan in 1995 and Manchester City in 2021.
The year they reached the final, in 2020, they beat RB Leipzig in a one-off semi-final after COVID-19 disrupted the season, before losing out in the final to Bayern Munich.
This season started with a new coach in Luis Enrique and without Lionel Messi and Neymar, as club president Nasser al-Khelaifi put an emphasis on building a team over individual talents.
While not always brilliant, PSG have looked like an organised outfit and the coach said he was already working on building a team without Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to leave at the end of the campaign.
"The players and coach gave their all," Al-Khelaifi said. "Congratulations to Dortmund, we deserved better. It's a tough game. I'm proud of my team, the youngest in Europe.
"We've reached the semi-finals three times in five years. That's not our objective; it's still the final. That's soccer; you have to accept it and sometimes it's not fair. We'll accept it."
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