Former Scotland striker Chris Boyd said Steve Clarke's side had “made the country proud” after keeping their Euro 2024 last 16 hopes alive with a draw against Switzerland.
that much sky sports Pundits called the 5-1 defeat to Germany in their tournament opener “embarrassing” but were quick to praise their players after a much-improved performance in their second Group A match.
A win against Hungary on Sunday will likely see Scotland progress beyond the group stages of a major tournament for the first time.
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Kris Boyd said he was 'proud of the country' as Scotland secured their first point of Euro 2024 with a draw against Switzerland.
They took the lead early on when Scott McTominay dispatched Callum McGregor's cutback via a Fabian Schar deflection following a quick counter-attack.
Switzerland soon equalized through veteran Xherdan Shaqiri, who collected Anthony Ralston's loose pass and produced a brilliant first-time finish from the edge of the box.
“There were questions and criticism after the show Friday night, and rightly so,” Boyd said. Sky Sports News.
“Tonight they responded and it was like Scotland right before their eyes.
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Kris Boyd celebrates the opening match between Scotland and Switzerland in a crucial Euro 2024 group stage match.
“Switzerland are no mugs at this level but they have drawn more than matched them.
“Yes, they were lucky at times, but I think Steve Clarke will be relatively happy with the result.
“There had to be a response from where we were on Friday night and we got one this evening.
“There may have been a few harsh words thrown around the training ground over the past few days, but that’s the life of a soccer player. There are ups and downs.
“Scotland have shown they can compete at this level. It was a quick turnaround but they did the country proud tonight.”
Clarke: It went as we expected.
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Steve Clarke insisted it was more like Scotland as they kept their hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2024 knockout stages alive after a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in the second leg of their group stage.
The Granite City manager Steve Clark:
“That's what we expected, this is how we've been playing as a team for the last three or four years and that's why we've come to a major tournament.
“We knew what we had to do, the players knew what they had to do. I thought it was a good performance from the team against a good opponent.
“It's always about trying to get better. Sometimes as a football player or a manager things don't go your way, and certainly on Friday night it didn't go your way. Tonight was about us getting back to good form.
“In fact, when we drew in the opening game and we drew with the hosts, I was looking at the second two games of the group and thinking, ‘Maybe we can get a point here.’ That’s what happened.”
