Ex-Scotland manager Craig Levein appeared on the latest edition of BBC’s Sportsound Scottish Football Podcast to react to Scotland’s penalty shootout win over Serbia in Thursday’s UEFA EURO 2020 qualification playoff and he was full of praise for Celtic forward Leigh Griffiths during the show.
After spending some time on the sidelines due to a calf injury at the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign, it may be fair to say that Griffiths has not played an incredibly significant role for Neil Lennon’s side this term, as he has featured in just five of Celtic’s 19 competitive games so far this season.
However, you could argue that he did play a significant role for the Scottish national team in Thursday’s penalty shootout win over Serbia, as he stepped up to take and ultimately score Scotland’s first penalty of the shootout and here is what Levein had to say about the 30-year-old forward during this podcast appearance after he helped Scotland to qualify for EURO 2020:
“It’s what he does – he scores goals. He would feel more comfortable than any other player on the park stepping up to get a chance to score. That’s what he does for a living.”
Is Griffiths a reliable penalty taker?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts on what Levein had to say about Griffiths…
Griffiths didn’t feature heavily at all in Thursday’s game before the penalty shootout. He was introduced to the game as a 117th-minute substitute, replacing Stephen O’Donnell, and he managed to touch the ball just once before the final whistle blew at the end of extra-time.
Given that he was introduced to the game so late, perhaps Scotland boss Steve Clarke had one eye on the impending penalty shootout when he decided to bring Griffiths off the bench, in the hope that the Celtic man would give his team a boost in the shootout and that is ultimately what happened.
Perhaps Levein is right in suggesting that Griffiths was more comfortable than any other Scotland player with being the first one to take a penalty and it seems like Clarke may have also felt that would be the case.
So, as the £1.8m-rated Hoops attacker did get his team off to a positive start in this penalty shootout, it may be fair to say that Clarke made a wise decision to bring him off the bench.