Why Halliday feels Shankland must start for Scotland at World Cup
Lawrence Shankland has to be Scotland's starting striker at the World Cup this summer, says former Hearts midfielder Andy Halliday. The Hearts captain started his first match since January for the Scottish Premiership leaders against Livingston on Sunday, scoring and assisting in the 2-2 draw. The 30-year-old has now netted 16 times in all competitions this season and has provided another five assists for Derek McInnes' men.
Despite scoring in the astonishing 4-2 win over Denmark in November, which booked Scotland's place at this summer's finals, Shankland has struggled to nail down a starting spot in Steve Clarke's side. Just four of his 18 caps have been starts, but he has scored on four occasions, and Halliday feels his former team-mate has demonstrated why he deserves to be Clarke's first-choice centre-forward. "I think he's the best striker at our disposal," Motherwell midfielder Halliday said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast .
"I think he's the best finisher out of the group of strikers we've got. "Going into three World Cup games where I don't expect us to have loads of chances every single game - the past two friendlies probably proved that - I think if a chance is going to fall to anyone, you're hoping it's Lawrence Shankland. "He comes on in the game against Denmark, makes an immediate impact.
That type of goal, as simple as it is, it's a two-yard tap-in. "That's what Lawrence Shankland is: he's someone who thrives off playing in between the posts. For me, it's not fortune when you see strikers that land on these types of chances all the time.
"I thought he should have been the starting striker going into the Euros in 2024. I'm hoping we've almost learned a lesson from that not being the case. "