GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland picked teenager Tyler Fletcher for the World Cup as a surprise injury replacement Sunday despite the midfielder playing less than 20 minutes for Manchester United this season.
The 19-year-old Fletcher was asked by Scotland coach Steve Clarke to gain experience last week practising with the senior squad, then got a shock call-up after Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour suffered a knee injury Saturday in a 4-1 win over Curacao in a warmup game.
Fletcher made his national-team debut Saturday as a half-time substitute and got the World Cup call ahead of players including 19-year-old Lennon Miller, who had a full season in Serie A with Udinese.
“I just felt Tyler came into the squad this week and showed up really well, did well in the game so that was the thinking,” Clarke said Sunday.
Fletcher got just two brief appearances off the bench in the Premier League for United, where his father Darren was a 13-season veteran who played 80 times for Scotland, though never at a World Cup.
Clarke had put midfielders Miller, Connor Barron and Andy Irving on standby two weeks ago when naming his 26-player squad, yet opted to promote Fletcher.
“For myself, it was a really difficult night, I haven’t slept much,” Clarke said. “I had to disappoint another three players this morning again, to tell them that they had missed out.”
Fletcher joins 19-year-old Findlay Curtis in the squad, plus 20-year-old Ben Gannon-Doak. They were not born when their 43-year-old teammate Craig Gordon first played for Scotland in 2004.
When Gordon made his debut as Scotland goalkeeper 22 years ago, Darren Fletcher was in the lineup and scored in a 4-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
Scotland returns to the World Cup after a 28-year wait in a group with Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. Scotland start June 13 against Haiti at the New England Patriots stadium in Foxborough.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
