Winger Ben Doak is arguably one of the few players among those who play football for Scotland who have had this attention in the last ten years.
Supporters of the team could not hide their joy when the team’s former defender Willie Miller called the 18-year-old a “standout” in a match against Croatia, making this match his second appearance for the senior team and his first start.
Doak was everywhere in the match with an impressive skill, including dribbling and speed, that created problems for the Croatian defense when he played on the right side of the match that was played in Zagreb, Croatia.
The young player contributed an assist that led to Ryan Christie’s goal that the poor Croatian defenders could not clear away through his run against Josko Gvardiol.
Doak outdid himself through his composure and confidence in Zagreb, making it difficult despite being a young player who is only playing his second game for the team.
Among all his contributions on the field, he also had the most touches among the Scottish players in Croatia’s penalty area and also recorded the most dribble.
The player is currently playing for Middlesbrough as a loanee from Liverpool, and he has shown that he will continue to have a space in the team despite losing the match to Croatia. This game marks Scotland’s fourth consecutive defeat.
“It’s the willingness to take players on, take pressure off your team, and drag your side up the pitch,” former Scotland forward James McFadden said on BBC Radio Scotland’s Sportsound.
“When he gets into the final third, he can’t get it right every time, but he is a threat.
“We mentioned his age and bringing that freshness, you think it’s going to be raw because we’ve not seen a lot of him.
“But he’s making good decisions to hold his position and run in behind and not getting too excited and rushing things.”