Steve Clarke is hopeful footballing icons Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Robert Lewandowski will keep playing international football so his Scotland squad can test themselves in the Nations League.
The Hampden manager is a firm believer in competing against the best to improve - so he's hopeful his Scotland team won't miss out of facing the trio after drawing Croatia, Portugal and Poland in the Nations League.
And while Ronaldo, Modric and Lewandowski are advancing in their years, Clarke is desperate for them to keep playing on the international stage.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke hopes "greats" Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Robert Lewandowski keep playing international football in order to face his side in the Nations League.
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) February 8, 2024
His side were paired with Portugal, Croatia and Poland in Thursday's draw.
🏴 🇵🇹 🇭🇷 🇵🇱 pic.twitter.com/vpVjoSVMxW
Speaking to the BBC, he said: "Some great names in there and hopefully they continue to play because I like my players to play against the best players. You want to play against the best.
"I remember when I was a player - a long time ago - you always wanted to play against the top opponents and measure yourself and test yourself.
"Hopefully the three you mentioned all turn up."
And asked for his reaction to the draw in general, he added: "It's a tough one but we knew that anyway. It's our first time in the top group, we expected difficult opponents and that is what we have got but that's what we wanted.
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"I'm always a great believer if you want to improve you have to play against the best teams so we've got good opponents and we look forward to the matches."
The Scotland boss also hailed a 'gradual improvement' from the national team during his tenure as he looked ahead to Euro 2024 in the summer.
"I think over the four and a half years I've been head coach things have gradually improved and it's building up nicely towards the summer," he said.
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