For one Liverpool youngster, the night of 15 November 2024 could be the making of him as a fully fledged star for his country.
In what was perhaps the standout result from Friday’s UEFA Nations League action, Scotland recorded just a second win from their last 16 games with a 1-0 victory over Croatia, courtesy of John McGinn’s 86th-minute strike.
However, it wasn’t the Aston Villa captain who dominated the post-match discussion in his homeland, but rather a certain Ben Doak.
Doak lauded by Scottish media
The Liverpool starlet – who’s on loan at Middlesbrough this season – was handed 8/10 by the Daily Record in their player ratings with a glowing review of: “Third start in a row and gave Josko Gvardiol a torrid time. Brilliant turn left Man City man eating dirt in first half. Skinned him again at winner.”
BBC Scotland‘s chief sports writer Tom English didn’t hold back with his praise of the 19-year-old, of whom he wrote: “Young Ben, 19, fearless and flying down Scotland’s right, against Josko Gvardiol, the renowned £77m man from Manchester City. No contest.
“The margin of Scotland’s victory was tight. The margin of Doak’s superiority was vast. Doak was electrifying long before the endgame. The Liverpool teenager, on loan at Middlesbrough, was a whirling dervish, a human blur taking the fight to Croatia.”
(Photo by Euan Cherry/Getty Images)Liverpool could have a star in the making in Doak
Considering how brilliantly Doak played last night, it seems astonishing to think that he only turned 19 last weekend and made his senior Scotland debut just two months ago.
The outrageous backflick with which he beat Gvardiol by the right flank during the first half was simply breathtaking, displaying a incredible level of self-confidence up against a seasoned defender who’s been starring for the Premier League champions.
As per Sofascore, the Liverpool gem completed two dribbles and 90% of his passes, along with making two key passes and winning three duels as he tormented the Croatian defence.
Doak had come into this moth’s international break buoyed by three assists in his last two games for Middlesbrough, and his starring performances for club and country illustrate that the decision to loan him out for the season was an inspired one.
It’s most unlikely that the teenager would’ve had the same scope to impress if he’d stayed put at Anfield and been left feeding off scraps, but on current form he looks set to return to Merseyside next summer as a genuine first-team star in the making.
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