Scott McTominay on Tuesday scored twice as Scotland claimed a 2-0 victory over Spain at Hampden Park in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying, while Croatia won in Turkey.
Steve Clarke’s Scotland on Saturday won their opening match in Group A 3-0 against Cyprus, but usurped that result with a stunning performance against three-time European champions Spain.
It was their first victory over Spain since 1984 and probably their best result since beating France in 2007.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“The manager said before getting on the bus for the stadium: ‘This is your chance to create a legacy as a Scotland player,’” McTominay said.
“These are the sort of nights in 20-30 years you remember as a player. When you watch back the game you say I was there. It’s what the game is about,” he said.
Manchester United midfielder McTominay gave the hosts a dream start by slotting home Andrew Robertson’s cutback in the seventh minute.
Photo: Reuters
Lyndon Dykes missed a golden chance to double the Scots’ advantage in first-half stoppage time, but dinked the ball over the bar after racing through on goal.
McTominay made no such mistake six minutes after the restart, drilling home a fine left-footed volley after excellent work from Kieran Tierney.
Spain piled on late pressure, but failed to create many clear-cut chances as Scotland held on to the delight of a raucous crowd in Glasgow.
The loss is a serious early setback for new Spain coach Luis de la Fuente who took over from Luis Enrique following a World Cup last-16 exit to Morocco.
“It’s clear that the two chances they had they put away and we tried, we hit the woodwork twice, we had a lot of chances, above all in the first half,” Spain midfielder Rodri told Teledeporte.
“We have to improve these lapses, and these things that cost us against these teams,” he added.
Scotland are top of a difficult Group A that also includes Erling Haaland’s Norway and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s Georgia.
The Georgians played out a 1-1 draw with Norway in the other Group A game in Batumi.
The Scandinavians took the lead through Alexander Sorloth, playing in place of the injured Haaland, in the 15th minute, but Metz forward Georges Mikautadze equalized on the hour mark to ensure Georgia did not start their bid to qualify for a first major tournament with a defeat.
“It would have been worse if we had stood here and not created chances. We had some incredible chances today. That’s life,” Norway coach Stale Solbakken said.
World Cup semi-finalists Croatia eased to an impressive 2-0 win in Turkey to launch their Group D campaign after an opening draw with Wales.
Croatia are level on four points with Wales, after Rob Page’s side beat Latvia 1-0 for their first win since the retirement of Gareth Bale.
Switzerland made it two wins from two games in Group I, with a comfortable 3-0 success against Israel.
Romania boast a 100 percent record in the group after edging out Belarus 2-1, while Kosovo have two points from as many matches after a 1-1 draw with Andorra.
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