Mulgrew: McTominay Has Learned From Ronaldo, and Scotland Can Reach the Knockouts

Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports , former Celtic captain and Scotland international Charlie Mulgrew has given his thoughts on Scotland 's World Cup prospects and the players who can make the difference this summer.

Mulgrew has named the round of 16 as the target for Steve Clarke 's side, explained why he believes Scott McTominay has been learning from Cristiano Ronaldo , and defended John McGinn against criticism from Roy Keane .

The former Blackburn man has also assessed the rise of Ben Gannon-Doak , revealed how close he came to representing the United States , and delivered his predictions for the group stage clashes with Morocco and Brazil .

Scotland Squad

Keane's Pub Player Jibe at McGinn?

Roy Keane calling John McGinn a pub player? I just think it's the shape and probably the way he runs. He looks a bit awkward in how he runs, but I would never describe John McGinn as a pub player. He's top quality; he's captain of Aston Villa , and he's proved his worth in the way he can get his body in front, protect the ball, and roll people. It's brilliant. I mean, there are not many better out there that can do what he does. He's a powerful runner; he's heavy-set. I remember playing against him when he was 17 at St. Mirren .

I didn't know who he was, and he kind of used his body, no man had done it, to outpower Victor Wanyama , who, by the way, was like a tree. You couldn't move him off the ball.

John McGinn , at 17, used his body to manipulate the ball and get away from him. Right away, he stood out. So he's somebody that is no pub player, but I can half understand what Roy means by the way he moves. He's quite heavy-set, but it's part of why he's so good.

Was McBurnie Unlucky to Miss Out?

I'm not surprised that Oli McBurnie is not in there. I think Steve Clarke has to protect the unity in that squad. I'm not saying that McBurnie would have disrupted that, but I think that Steve Clarke needs to be sure of the characters he's bringing in. I think he's openly said that if he's not the number one striker, then he's not going to bring him in just to sit on the bench, because the dynamics behind the scenes at a football team and a national team is a unity of players that are still good teammates when they're on the bench.

Steve Clarke 's created that, so you've got people that know their roles and know that they can come on and impact, and know that they might not play every game or might not play a lot of minutes, but they're still going to be there encouraging the squad and being a good teammate, which is important.

So Steve Clarke 's duty is to protect that. It's really important to him. Everybody knows that. For me, looking from the outside, he didn't want to risk that. Now, I know McBurnie ; McBurnie 's a good guy and somebody I got on with well, and always have done with Scotland and stuff. Steve Clarke has obviously decided that he wants to protect what's there and keep the squad the way it is. But in my opinion, Oli 's done brilliantly this year, and with the goals he's scored, he's done everything he could to get in the squad. He's just been a bit unlucky.

What Would Make This a Success For Clarke?

I think if we go into the knockout stages and we win that game, I think that would be a great step forward for the country. Having never qualified from a group stage at the World Cup , it would be a huge achievement, especially after the last two tournaments. We were disappointed, and now we're more experienced for this one, and hopefully we can do it.

I think sometimes it suits us being the underdog, and I'm hoping that in the next two games we can put up a fight and get some results, or keep the score at a level where we can get through to the next round. When you come to knockout football, that's what we'd be so excited for, to watch Scotland in a knockout game at a World Cup .

Gannon-Doak's Rise For Scotland?

Personally, I think we don't usually have fast players, whatever it is, genetics or whatever; we don't usually have a lot of speed, so to have that speed is a great asset. Ben Gannon-Doak 's final ball needs improving, and he needs to get better at that, but he's young, and he'll learn. The more times he's in these scenarios and the more games he plays, he'll hopefully get better at that. But his strength and his pace create problems in defences, and it gives us an outlet, so he's a huge player.

For Scotland , he's somebody I like to see on the team sheet because it's an out-ball and it's somebody that can get us up the pitch. Hopefully, he can prove his worth, especially for the games against Morocco and Brazil . He can be the one to break away and cause problems. I remember I played in the squad with Ikechi Anya , who was another player that caused a lot of problems for the opposition just purely through speed. So, he's a huge asset.

Could You Have Played For the United States?

My grandma was born in America . Before I got a Scotland cap, my agent had said to me, Would you play for America ? And I said, well, I don't know. I would, why not? He looked into it, but when you play for America , you need to have a parent that was born there. It can't be grandparents. They must be one of the only countries where that has to be a parent.

Thankfully, that was the case because shortly after, I got a call-up for Scotland and I ended up with 44 caps for the country, obviously. But I love the land that I grew up in, and my roots are here, so it would almost have been false if I played for America .

I just couldn't imagine standing there singing the national anthem in America ; it just wouldn't have felt real. The Scotland one, on the other hand, used to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up because of how much it meant to me, and I know how much it meant to my family. It was a proud moment for me. So, everything happens for a reason.

McTominay

Will McTominay Step Up as the Tournament Goes On?

Scott McTominay had a wee sore stomach; there was nothing wrong with him! I mean, he's a top player that can produce big moments for Scotland . It's something we've known for years. He hit the post the other night, and you just felt like he can be the one to produce any big moments. We all know about his overhead kick and the moments he's produced for Scotland ; we've got a few players like that, John McGinn being another one.

He's a huge player for Scotland and somebody who can get in the box, is good in the air, and almost feels like he's learned a lot from Cristiano Ronaldo and watched Ronaldo closely. That's what it feels like to me. I've not spoken to him, but it seems like he's learned a lot watching him.

Could McTominay End Up at Barcelona or Real Madrid?

Right now Scott McTominay is fine where he is, but, I mean, there's no reason why he can't go to Barcelona or Real Madrid . If he keeps producing for Napoli and he keeps scoring in big moments, then that's a natural progression to one of the big Spanish clubs.

I don't see why not. It seems like Real Madrid would be more of a fit than Barcelona for me. He seems like more of a Real Madrid player than a Barcelona player, but nothing in football would surprise me. If he ended up there, I wouldn't be surprised because he's got that big game mentality and I've no doubt he'll have some sort of impact in this World Cup .

Group Stage Predictions

Scotland vs Morocco Prediction?

Both teams could be okay with a draw in this, but they'll try to win the game. Morocco is a top team. I thought they were actually better than Brazil , which didn't surprise me because I had done a wee bit of looking into them. They're a top team and a team where real world-class players are on the pitch. I think it would be an unbelievable result. If Scotland could get a draw, I doubt it, but you just never know.

I always thought it was better to be the underdog and to sort of be a bit more pragmatic, like I mentioned, and get them on the break, hopefully with a bit of pace with Ben Gannon-Doak . But Morocco are a good side and, listening to what I'm mentioning, I'd rather take a draw all day long, but I can't see it.

A narrow defeat wouldn't be the worst either. I don't want to be negative, but they look like they have a really good side. I'm going to try and be positive in this one. Hopefully, we can get a goal, and that will get us up. One each draw I'm going to go.

Scotland vs Brazil Prediction?

Brazil are Brazil . People are talking about the squad not being great, and you start going through the names, and they've got two of the best centre-halves in the world, arguably, two Champions League finalists. They've got Vinicius Junior on the left wing who scores on any night. You could argue their striker is a problem area, but they've still got a top team and players playing at top levels.

And with Carlo Ancelotti as manager, I think you've always got a chance because of the way he manages players and manages people; it's world-class, as he's proved it. Five Champions Leagues or whatever he's won, so I would never rule out Brazil . That'll be a real hard game as well, as hard as Morocco .

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