June 18 (Reuters) - Scotland will relish their role as underdogs in Friday's World Cup group game against Morocco who look even better now than in 2022 when they reached the semi-finals, coach Steve Clarke said.
After a nervy 1-0 win against minnows Haiti on Saturday, Scotland know a draw could clinch a place in the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time ever, but Clarke said he was under no illusions about the scale of the task.
"They reached the last four of the last World Cup, and I've got a feeling this Moroccan team is probably slightly better than that," Clarke told reporters on Thursday.
The coach said he expected his players to rise to the challenge posed by the North Africans who led Brazil before having to settle for a 1-1 draw in their opening group game.
"Sometimes the Scottish psyche, the Scottish mentality is that we're a little bit more comfortable when we're the underdogs," Clarke said.
Memorable Scottish performances against higher-ranked opponents include a 3-2 win over eventual finalists the Netherlands in 1978, which was agonisingly too little to keep Scotland in the tournament.
Clarke said being considered favourites against Haiti had contributed to the team's disjointed performance on Saturday. "This time we're the underdogs, and sometimes Scotland prefer it that way," he said.
Scotland would not be distracted by the various possibilities of qualifying for the round of 32 and would focus instead on the basics, he said.
"If you can't win the game, don't lose the game," the former Chelsea defender added. "Permutations and whatever you want to look at, that's for you guys and all the punters that are out there to think about, not for us."
Scotland fans expect Clarke to opt for a more defensive lineup on Friday. Ryan Christie could bolster the midfield at the expense of one of the two strikers who started against Haiti and a switch to five in defence might help to blunt Morocco's attacks from deep led by right back Achraf Hakimi.
"I think he's the best fullback in the world at the minute," Scotland captain Andy Robertson said. "He just plays with that freedom and can pop up ... in your own box and then all of a sudden he's back, one-v-one defending."
(Writing by William Schomberg, Editing by Ken Ferris)
