On the Wrong Side of Records: An Outsider’s Perspective on Scotland in EURO 2024
Nine minutes into stoppage time. Scotland is pushing for a last-minute goal. They miss a few key chances before…
Hungary sprints up the field on a counter-attack, and Újpest striker Kevin Csoboth scores. At 90+10’. Scotland loses not only the chance for a win, but also the one point they have held on to for the entire game.
The Scottish fans go silent. The Hungarian fans jump in jubilation.
This is what happened on the third matchday of EURO 2024, with Germany and Switzerland playing to a draw in the other game in Group A. Scotland’s loss left them with only one point in three games.
On the prior matchday, Scotland drew 1–1 with Switzerland. Yet that was after Scotland’s 5–1 loss against the German hosts, which set the record for largest margin of victory in the opening match of the EURO competition.
So what happened to Scotland this year?
It wasn’t their lack of quality on the pitch: you don’t have to look much further than captain Andrew Robertson of Liverpool or Scott McTominay of Manchester United to find that. Not to mention Che Adams and Lewis Morgan have been on fire as of late in their respective leagues.
It may have something to do with organization. After all, Germany’s movement in space was impeccable. As German attackers ran at the Scottish defenders, the strikers became ideal targets for Rüdiger, Kroos or Müller to hit a cross to.
At the same time, the attackers took defenders with them, providing space for players like Wirtz and Musiala, who could then shoot from the edge of the box. If Scotland had more effectively marked man-to-man, the scoreline would have probably been less flattering for Germany.
Against Switzerland, Scotland started out with a goal created by a fabulous cross-field run from Andrew Robertson on a counterattack. Callum McGregor’s service was finished off– with a bit of luck in the form of a deflection– by McTominay.
However, Switzerland leveled because of a crucial error by Scottish player Anthony Ralston, who passed the ball back into the direction of Xherdan Shaqiri, who scored with class. Throughout the rest of the game, Switzerland had two goals ruled offside as Scotland found themselves second to every aerial ball. However, Scotland also created chances off of crosses and were unlucky to find a goal as well.
For most of their final game, Scotland’s defense was much more solid. Scotland and Hungary both had multiple half-chances, yet both teams were mostly limited to shots from the edge of the box or unsuccessful crosses.
Then, in the last ten minutes, McTominay and Lawrence Shankland both had good chances, only for Hungary to win with thirty-seconds left in the game. Even as a neutral, it was hard to see the utter disbelief of the Scotland supporters in the stands.
Lacking solid spacial organization, second to crosses and unable to keep defensive shape when desperate for chances. It seems like a lot, but Scotland’s improvement, especially on the defensive end, was evident over the course of their three games.
Personally, I have hope for the Scotland National Team, especially with the growing talent of young players like Billy Gilmour. And I know Scotland will be back competing at the world’s highest stage, starting with World Cup 2026 in North America.
And who knows, maybe they’ll set their own favorable records.
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