Gauld got his first cap in Thursday night’s heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Poland and now he returns to a familiar place
Not just because it’s the place where he might make his first start for Scotland tonight. Or that it’s where Steve Clarke ’s side could pull off a Nations League shock by getting a much-needed result against a Euro big gun. No, Portugal – and its capital city, Lisbon – means far more than that to Gauld.
Gauld got his first cap in Thursday night’s heartbreaking 3-2 defeat to Poland at Hampden after coming off the bench. But he’d love to start at the Estadio da Luz tonight for a host of reasons. He said: “It’s a weird feeling coming back to Portugal. “I’ve always been well supported by the people in Portugal. I still get the odd message wishing me luck. So it would be nice to be involved and to play well in front of them.
“I was at Sporting, where he started out. He’s still a hero there and there are murals of him on the walls. So you can see why he wants to play for as long as he can. It definitely inspires you, seeing someone like that. Another major threat to Clarke’s side tonight will be AC Milan winger Rafael Leao. Gauld remembers how good he was at just 13 years old coming through the ranks at Sporting.
“Rafa was just a young boy training with us at that time. He’s an unbelievable player. He must have only been 13 or 14 at the time when we were 18 or 19.
Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal Football Team Steve Clarke Dundee United FC Nations League
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