Nottingham Forest defender Scott McKenna has been praised for his performance for Scotland. The Tartan Army lost 2-0 to Spain last week and must wait to guarantee qualification for Euro 2024.
This was a refreshing change of pace for McKenna. He’s not featured at all for Forest since the 1-1 draw with Burnley in the first game after the last international break.
Despite a lack of minutes, Steve Clarke is a manager who trusts McKenna to do a job for Scotland . As a result, he lined up in a three-man central defensive unit on Thursday night as Scotland fought hard against Spain.
Forest defender McKenna stars against Spain
The player won more headers than any other Scotland player on the pitch during the contest. He was head and shoulders above his peers and naturally, he has now received some praise.
Glasgow Live gave him a rating of 7/10 and wrote: “Some strong defending in his own area as Scotland survived an early Spanish onslaught. Thrust in with Kieran Tierney’s injury and he impressed.”
McKenna will now hope to keep his place in the Scotland team in the near future. They face France in a friendly on Tuesday and the Forest man might have the challenge of keeping Kylian Mbappe quite
McKenna at a crossroads in his career
Playing well for Scotland bodes well for McKenna. He is out of contract in the summer and will be on the lookout for what his next step might be with his club football.
However, leaving Forest could be a seriously viable option. McKenna has proved a quality player for the Reds over the years but ultimately, Steve Cooper now has better players.
Murillo appears to have come in and done the business; whilst Moussa Niakhate is also a left-sided central defensive option within the ranks at the City Ground.
Letting McKenna leave for nothing wouldn’t be ideal though. As a result, it will be desperately interesting to see how this one pans out from a Forest perspective.
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