Steve Clarke insists his focus is solely on the World Cup, not his future, after Scotland’s second successive friendly defeat on Tuesday.

Scotland were downed 1-0 by Japan on Friday, and they lost by the same scoreline four days later against Ivory Coast at Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Nicolas Pepe scored the game’s only goal 12 minutes in, converting after Elye Wahi hit the post as Emerse Fae’s side dominated large parts of the first half.

Clarke now has much to ponder after two losses without scoring, ahead of his squad regrouping for the World Cup in May, and his long-term future is in question.

He took over in May 2019 and has led Scotland to three major tournaments out of four, and he has said publicly that he would like his future confirmed before the World Cup.

“The most important thing is to get ready for the World Cup. My future can take care of itself, whenever it does,” Clarke responded when asked about his future on Tuesday.

Scotland did not start poorly here, though – Ryan Christie forced a save, and Kieran Tierney dragged wide early on.

However, Ivory Coast turned on the style and found the deserved opener through former Arsenal forward Pepe, before George Hirst headed off target and opted to shoot from another chance when a pass was on.

“Disappointed to lose again. Like always with friendlies, some things were good, some things bad,” Clarke added.

“I thought we started the game really well. We got caught in the counter-attack. We didn’t react well to losing the goal. The first half became a bit of a struggle.

“Second half, I thought we were excellent, we dominated the ball and asked them to defend. To be fair to the Ivory Coast, they defended very well.

“Sometimes you’re hoping the ball will fall for you, and it didn’t fall for us tonight, but you have to make it fall for you. That’s the little bit we need to get better at.”

Thank you for your travelling support tonight

Safe journeys back up the road. #CIVSCO pic.twitter.com/xMNDBlWqLf

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) March 31, 2026

Ivory Coast could have extended their lead in the second half, with Scott Bain managing an eye-catching stop to thwart Amad Diallo, and Simon Adingra was denied by the woodwork.

The defeat means Scotland have lost back-to-back internationals without scoring for the first time since March 2024 (4-0 v Netherlands, 1-0 v Northern Ireland).

But captain Andy Robertson is remaining calm, telling BBC Scotland: “We changed the system and made nine changes. The manager is trying both systems.

“We caused them problems – in the last 20 minutes we were the team pushing forwards. It’s one of those games. We want to win these games, but we’re also trying stuff.

“We get caught on the counter for the goal, which can’t really happen. It’s up to us now to go back to our clubs and be really excited for the summer.”