STEVE CLARKE is begging Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Robert Lewandowski NOT to hang up their boots before they play Scotland.
The Nations League draw saw the Scots land Portugal, Croatia and Poland in League A1. The games are scheduled for September, October and November.
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Boss Clarke hopes their veteran superstars are all still playing international football by then.
He said: “I want them all! I say that because you only have a short career, and as a player myself I wanted to play against the best.
“You want to be competitive against the top guys and test yourself against the best teams and the best players.
“Hopefully Lewandowski, Modric and Ronaldo hang on a bit longer and play in the Nations League. That would be great for everybody.
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“I also think supporters going to Hampden, they want to see those players.”
Clarke added: “Croatia beat us at the last Euros and that was very disappointing for everyone.
“But when you stand back and watch the game again, you see the performance of Modric was just outstanding.
“To see those players playing at their best is something people would treasure.”
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez says Ronaldo is showing no signs of quitting international football.
Asked if his veteran skipper was still likely to be playing by the Nations League kick-off, Martinez said: “Oof! That’s something we’ve worried about day-by-day.
“Cristiano is playing today actually against Al Hilal in their last friendly. At the moment he’s feeling very strong.
“He’s 39 and he’s taking every game as it comes.”
Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic also insists Modric, 38, is still a big part of his plans.
He said: “Luka’s our captain, he’s our most important player. We will see what will be after the Euros, maybe he will stop — I don’t know.
“With Modric we are a different team to what we are without him. We will see what he does.
“We won 3-1 in the Euro finals in Glasgow, but this game will not be easy for us now because Scotland play very well.
“They qualified for the Euros and they will play different football now.”
Poland legend Lewandowski will turn 36 before the opening tie.
SFA CEO Ian Maxwell reckons Scotland are box office regardless of who came out in the draw.
He said: “A winning team helps sell out tickets.
“Nothing has more impact than that, and we have seen that for the last two or three years.
“There has been a real scramble for tickets, which is great from an SFA perspective.
“It helps us do the stuff we want to do to develop the game across the country.
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“We’re now in a slightly unusual position where we’re expected to sell out.
“We have demand there with 38,000 Supporters Club members, and we sold out for Germany in no time at all. It’s great to have that problem.”
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