Shankland brace fires Scotland to first home friendly win in a decade against Curacao

Lawrence Shankland marked his arrival as a Rangers player with a decisive brace as Scotland defeated Curacao 4-1 in a World Cup warm-up at Hampden Park on Saturday, ending a ten-year wait for a home friendly victory. Ryan Christie converted a penalty for the fourth, while Findlay Curtis scored his first international goal after coming on as a substitute.

Steve Clarke had promised to rotate his squad and duly rested several regulars, including Scott McTominay, John McGinn and Kieran Tierney. Despite that, Scotland found themselves behind after 17 minutes when Sheffield United midfielder Tahith Chong collected the ball at the halfway line, drove forward and fired past Craig Gordon — a goal that briefly silenced Hampden.

The contest shifted in Scotland’s favour when Curacao striker Jurgen Locadia was sent off in the 37th minute for a late challenge on Aaron Hickey. A VAR review upgraded the initial yellow card to a red, leaving the visitors — managed by 78-year-old former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat — to defend with ten men for the remainder of the match.

Concern briefly gripped the Tartan Army when Billy Gilmour limped off just before half-time with an injury, but his replacement Curtis quickly made an impact, turning a Kenny McLean pass inside the box to level the scores with his first goal in only his second international appearance.

Shankland, who joins Curtis at Rangers next season following his move from Hearts, then took over. The striker struck twice in a five-minute spell early in the second half before Christie converted from the spot to complete the scoring.

Craig Gordon, 43, started in goal having recovered from a shoulder injury that had kept him sidelined since January, while Dundee centre-back Luke Graham, Hearts forward James Wilson and Manchester United midfielder Tyler Fletcher — son of former Scotland captain Darren Fletcher — were among those on the bench despite not being named in the World Cup squad.

Scotland face Bolivia in New Jersey next Saturday in their final warm-up before returning to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1998. They will face Haiti, Morocco and Brazil in the group stage in the United States.