Scotland's hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time in their history remain alive after a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Switzerland in Group A.
Steve Clarke's side were much better than their 5-1 thrashing by Euro 2024 hosts Germany on Friday and took an early lead when Scott McTominay dispatched Callum McGregor's cut-back through a Fabian Schar deflection following a quick counter-attack. I went to
The goal sparked wild celebrations from the Tartans inside the Cologne stadium, but Switzerland soon equalized through veteran Xherdan Shaqiri. Shaqiri collected Anthony Ralston's loose pass and produced a brilliant first-time finish from the edge of the box.
The two sides continued to trade attacks in the second half, with Angus Gunn outstanding to save from Dan Ndoye in the first half and once again denying the Swiss forward's one-on-one opportunity before Grant Hanley had a huge opportunity for Scotland. Andrew Robertson's free kick post.
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Kris Boyd celebrates Scotland's opening match against Switzerland.
It would have been Scotland's closest to taking all three points and their first win at a major tournament since beating the same opponents at Euro 1996. But at the other end he showed impressive defensive resilience and survived a late scare when coming on as a substitute. Zeki Amdouni headed wastefully.
Grant Hanley hit the bar as Scotland pushed for a second-half win.
The draw gave Scotland one point from two Group A games and three points behind second-placed Switzerland, which qualified alongside Germany. But crucially, it means that a win over Hungary in Sunday's final game will give Scotland the chance to progress to one of the four players in the top three.
The only blemish on the night was an injury to defender Kieran Tierney. He collapsed to the ground in the second half after clutching his hamstring and had to be taken off on a stretcher, with Clarke later confirming he would definitely miss the remainder of the tournament.
Star performer: McTominay important
Scott McTominay's goal, his eighth for the national team, was his standout moment, but it was an all-round outstanding performance from the Manchester United midfielder.
Scott McTominay was active all over the pitch, including in both boxes.
As he often does, he has twice as many shots on target (4) as his team-mates and is first in touches inside the opposition box (8), winning possession and driving the side forward.
But he was equally important off the ball, relishing the task of shadowing Granit Xhaka to limit his influence and ensure he carried out his duties diligently.
Gun: We are 10 times better.
scottish goalkeeper Angus Gunn “Everything about the game from the start was 10 times better than last night.
“The players played for 90 minutes. Some of them were exhausted by the end of the game, but they were much more like us.”
“We wanted to bring that intensity back into the game today and we did that and you could see how much strength it gave the players and the fans. That was the strength we needed at the start of the game.
“Personally, I was heartbroken after the game on Friday night because I didn’t feel like I had done myself justice. I think a lot of the players felt that way too. That was the motivation to come out and show what we’re made of. All medicine.
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Kris Boyd said Scotland 'did the country proud' as they drew with Switzerland.
“We wanted to go into the last game with something to work for. We went into the last game knowing what to do and hopefully we can get a big result.”
Captain Andrew Robertson Said: “They are much more like us, more aggressive on the front foot and have started much better.
“We made a mistake but Tony Ralston was unbelievable after that mistake. Not many people can come back from that, but he was a different class in the second half.
“We had our chances, but it was an open game. It was much more like ours and we are much more satisfied with that performance. We will take the draw and there is everything left to do in the last game. That is all we need to do. “You can request it.”
How are the top 3 teams ranked?
The top two teams from six groups advance to the round of 16.
These 12 teams will be joined by four of the six top three teams in their group. The third placed team will be placed in the league table and the top four teams will advance to the last 16.
The top three teams in each group are ranked based on the following criteria:
1) Point
2) Goal difference
3) Scoring
4) win
5) Total points for lower level disciplinary action
6) European preliminary round rankings
7) If the host country, Germany, is the target of comparison, a draw will be drawn.
The tournament will be played in a straight knockout format with ties over one leg, including overtime and penalties if necessary, until the two teams advance to the final on July 14 in Berlin.
