Serial qualifiers? It’s still too early to say, but for any Scotland supporter who cannot remember the 1998 World Cup in France or the years before, these are dizzying times indeed. The Tartan Army are heading to Euro 2024, their second successive appearance at the European Championships, and just their second men’s major international tournament in 25 years. Hampden has rediscovered its roar, and it is set to carry Scotland on their march to Germany next summer; tens of thousands will make the journey –many had already booked their tickets before this weekend – and it is all thanks, by and large, to Steve Clarke. If Clarke has brought the good times back, it is worth remembering the dark days he inherited on his appointment in 2019. Scotland were barely able to fill half of Hampden as their men’s major tournament drought extended past two decades. A 3-0 defeat to Kazakhstan proved to be the end for Clarke’s predecessor, Alex McLeish, and rock bottom for Scotland; there was no hope, and no hint of the immense progress Clarke has since been able to achieve with what are still fairly limited resources. Automatic qualification from a tricky Group A was secured with two games to go, owed to a phenomenal start that featured the stunning wins against Spain at Hampden and Norway in Oslo. After the ultimately disappointing performances at the Covid-delayed Euro 2020 finals and defeat to an inspired Ukraine in the play-offs for the 2022 World Cup, Scotland took to their task with focus and clarity, forged from the cohesion and spirit Clarke has brought to the national team over the course of his tenure. If Scotland are famously one of those sides that always do things the hard way, progress to Euro 2024 has been serene by comparison. Under the guidance of the calm and measured Clarke, Scotland has become an environment where players want to play, mirroring a club side with the relationships within the group and the organisation of their approach. There can be no doubting anyone’s commitment to the Scotland cause – and that has not always been the case in recent years – while Clarke’s management style is to never allow anyone to get too high or feel too low. For all that Scotland’s 2-0 victory over Spain in March was a memorable night at Hampden, the key to qualification was that Clarke ensured his squad kept their feet on the ground when there was still a job to be done. Clarke would be the first to point out that further improvements are still required ahead of Euro 2024 – England’s performance and Jude Bellingham’s class at Hampden last month made that perfectly clear – but Scotland will head to Germany believing they can be much more competitive than when they returned from the international wilderness. For one, that long wait, with the emotions it brought with it, is over. Scotland’s squad is settled and largely unchanged from the summer of 2021, and Clarke’s team have the experience of a major tournament to build on. And, as anyone who celebrated a significant birthday, a graduation, or a wedding will remember, the summer of 2021 was a strange time, with the UK only just coming out of spells of Covid lockdown. Scotland’s return required the full experience of the Tartan Army, especially with two games at Hampden and a third against England at Wembley, but a long-awaited party was dampened. Germany will bring full numbers and see Scotland at full voice; it will undoubtedly help a team who will aim to punch above their weight. While there is a notion that successive appearances at the European Championships are a sign of some sort of Scottish “golden generation”, the reality is somewhat different. This Scotland squad certainly has talent and quality, but it is also one with gaps and holes, and is far weaker than the results under Clarke suggest. But the 60-year-old has found solutions and made improvements with the options at his disposal, while creating a culture within the group that has lifted standards and expectations. In simple terms, it is astute management at every level. Scotland, for a while, seemed cursed by having two world-class players in Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney, but both being left-backs. There is now a genuine partnership between Robertson and Tierney within Clarke’s system, which is built upon a back three that has kept four clean sheets in six games so far in qualifying. Angus Gunn has made an assured start at goalkeeper after taking over from the veterans David Marshall and Craig Gordon, while Aaron Hickey represents a significant upgrade on Stephen O’Donnell at right wing-back – which was another problem position at Euro 2020. The lack of a world-class striker – the Tartan Army would accept at least one Premier League-calibre option, with both Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams plying their trade in the Championship this season – has been mitigated as well. For all that Dykes and Adams have always put in huge shifts when leading the line, often a thankless task in any case, Scotland’s goals have been scored by another player with whom Clarke has performed miracles – Scott McTominay. Underappreciated and perennially dismissed at Manchester United, and used as a centre-back at Euro 2020 as his country struggled to fit him into the side, McTominay has been the revelation of Scotland’s campaign. Deployed now as an attacking midfielder and given licence to break forward into the box, McTominay’s return of six goals in as many games has been beyond anyone’s expectations – as many as Erling Haaland. That McTominay’s success has come within the organisation and structure Clarke has installed is no coincidence; international tournaments often show how countries can rise as a collective, and Morocco, Switzerland and Wales are also recent examples that will give Scotland hope that they can extend their trip to Germany by reaching the knockout stages. “I said after Euro 2020 that we wanted to be serial qualifiers again, and reaching successive Euro finals shows the progress we’ve made,” said Clarke, typically level even as Scotland’s progress was confirmed. “We will raise a glass tonight to celebrate, but then it’s back to work tomorrow in preparation for our friendly against France.” There will have been many back home, however, who will have instead been raising a glass to him, much longer into the night. Read More Scotland qualify for Euro 2024 after Spain result confirms place Andy Robertson injury: Scotland provide update on dislocated shoulder against Spain Steve Clarke congratulates Scotland players for becoming ‘serial qualifiers’ after reaching Euro 2024

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England travel to Australia and New Zealand as one of the favourites to win the Women’s World Cup, with Sarina Wiegman’s side looking to back up their victory in the European Championships last summer on home soil. The Lionesses were knocked out at the semi-final stage in both 2015 and 2019 having suffered defeat at the hands of Japan and the United States. The United States, who have won the tournament a record four times, will represent one of England’s main obstacles once again as they look to win the World Cup for a third successive time. Ireland will be making their debut appearance at the Women’s World Cup, while Germany, Spain, France and Sweden will all be contenders from Europe. With the tournament fast approaching, here is everything you need to know about how to watch the Women’s World Cup. When is the Women’s World Cup? The tournament will kick off on 20 July 2023 with the opening match between hosts New Zealand and Norway. Australia will kick off against Ireland later that day. The knockout stages begin on 5 August, with the World Cup final taking place in Sydney on 20 August. How can I watch the Women’s World Cup? TV rights have finally been agreed upon after a long-winded and public dispute between various European nations and FIFA. Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, threatened a media blackout for the continent’s biggest football nations (UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain) but that was avoided after a deal was struck in mid-June. For UK viewers, every game will be available to watch on the BBC and ITV. For the BBC, there will be live coverage on television as well as the BBC Sport website with live audio commentary available on BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds app. For ITV, live coverage will be available on television as well as online via ITVX. At present, the BBC and ITV have only announced the schedule for the group stages, although the BBC have said they will broadcast both semi-finals with the final available on both channels. When can I watch England? England play their first match of the World Cup against Haiti in Group D on 22 July. The game starts at 10:30am BST and will be shown on ITV. On 28 July, England play Denmark with kick-off at 9:30am BST and the game broadcast on the BBC. England’s final group-stage fixture is against China on Tuesday 1 August and will be shown on ITV with the match starting at 12pm BST. Should England make it through to the round of 16, their fixture will be shown live on the BBC. Full Group Stage TV Schedule (All kick-off times BST ) Thursday 20 July Group A: New Zealand vs Norway (08:00, Auckland) - BBC Group B: Australia vs Republic of Ireland (11:00, Sydney) - ITV Friday 21 July Group B: Nigeria vs Canada (03:30, Melbourne) - BBC Group A: Philippines vs Switzerland (06:00, Dunedin) - ITV Group C: Spain vs Costa Rica (08:30, Wellington) - BBC Saturday 22 July Group E: USA vs Vietnam (02:00, Auckland) - BBC Group C: Zambia vs Japan (08:00 Hamilton) - BBC Group D: England vs Haiti (10:30, Brisbane) - ITV Group D: Denmark vs China (13:00, Perth) - BBC Sunday 23 July Group G: Sweden vs South Africa (06:00, Wellington) - BBC Group E: Netherlands vs Portugal (08:30, Dunedin) - BBC Group F: France vs Jamaica (11:00, Sydney) - ITV Monday 24 July Group G: Italy vs Argentina (07:00, Auckland) - ITV Group H: Germany vs Morocco (09:30, Melbourne) - ITV Group F: Brazil vs Panama (12:00, Adelaide) - ITV Tuesday 25 July Group H: Colombia vs Korea Republic (03:00, Sydney) - BBC Group A: New Zealand vs Philippines (06:30, Dunedin) - ITV Group A: Switzerland vs Norway (09:00, Hamilton) - ITV Wednesday 26 July Group C: Japan vs Costa Rica (06:00, Dunedin) - ITV Group C: Spain vs Zambia (08:30, Auckland) - BBC Group B: Canada vs Republic of Ireland (13:00, Perth) - ITV Thursday 27 July Group E: USA vs Netherlands (02:00, Wellington) - BBC Group E: Portugal vs Vietnam (08:30, Hamilton) - ITV Group B: Australia vs Nigeria (11:00, Brisbane) - BBC Friday 28 July Group G: Argentina vs South Africa (01:00, Dunedin) - ITV Group D: England vs Denmark (09:30, Sydney) - BBC Group D: China vs Haiti (12:00, Adelaide) - ITV Saturday 29 July Group G: Sweden vs Italy (08:30, Wellington) - BBC Group F: France vs Brazil (11:00, Brisbane) - BBC Group F: Panama vs Jamaica (13:30, Perth) - ITV Sunday 30 July Group H: Korea Republic vs Morocco (05:30, Adelaide) - BBC Group A: Norway vs Philippines (08:00, Auckland) - BBC Group A: Switzerland vs New Zealand (08:00, Dunedin) - BBC Group H: Germany vs Colombia (10:30, Sydney) - ITV Monday 31 July Group C: Costa Rica vs Zambia (08:00, Hamilton) - ITV Group C: Japan vs Spain (08:00, Wellington) - ITV Group B: Ireland vs Nigeria (11:00, Brisbane) - BBC Group B: Canada vs Australia (11:00, Melbourne) - BBC Tuesday 1 August Group E: Vietnam vs Netherlands (08:00, Dunedin) - ITV Group E: Portugal vs USA (08:00, Auckland) - ITV Group D: Haiti vs Denmark (12:00, Perth) - ITV Group D: China vs England (12:00, Adelaide) - ITV Wednesday 2 August Group G: South Africa vs Italy (08:00, Wellington) - BBC Group G: Argentina vs Sweden (08:00, Hamilton) - BBC Group F: Jamaica vs Brazil (11:00, Melbourne) - ITV Group F: Panama vs France (11:00, Sydney) - ITV Thursday 3 August Group H: Korea Republic vs Germany (11:00, Brisbane) - BBC Group H: Morocco vs Colombia (11:00, Perth) - BBC Read More England’s road to the World Cup begins with a ‘different test’ - and it’s not just Portugal Women’s World Cup: Who are England playing and what is their group? 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