Hearts and Scotland defender John Souttar has called last month’s World Cup qualifying win over Denmark – in which he scored the opening goal – the best moment of his career “without a doubt”.
Souttar was a late call-up to the squad after injuries disrupted Steve Clarke’s squad, allowing the Hearts star to make his first appearance in Dark Blue for three years following a red card against Israel.
John Souttar is mobbed by Scotland teammates after his goal against Denmark (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The Jambos star was delighted to ‘put that to bed’ with his goal as he recalled the raucous Hampden win over the Danes that saw Craig Gordon say it was the best atmosphere he’s experienced there.
“That was the best moment I’ve had in my career, without a doubt,” Souttar told the Courier. “It was crazy.
“It was my first game back since being sent off for Scotland against Israel [September 2018]. So, that was in my mind for two years.
“Because it was the last thing I did in a Scotland shirt, you think, ‘that can’t be my last game for Scotland!’
“To put that to bed — and with my family being there and seeing what it meant to them — was a special moment.”
Souttar added: “Everyone is behind Scotland just now and it does make a difference.
“There were about 17,000 fans at Hampden for my first appearance [against Belgium]. After growing up watching a bouncing Hampden, you maybe think, ‘that’s not what I grew up watching’.
“But in that Denmark game, it WAS like that.
“I still remember speaking to Craigy Gordon after the game and he said: ‘That’s the best I can ever remember here’.”
With his Tynecastle contract up in the summer, Souttar is being tracked by a host of clubs keen to land him on a pre-contract and his excellent form for Hearts was rightly rewarded with his place in the side against Denmark.
After appearing to put the worst of his well-documented injury problems behind him, hopefully there’s more moments like the Denmark win in the future for the Scotland star.
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