Scott McTominay scored twice as Scotland held a famous 2-0 win over Spain in Euro 2024 qualifiers at Hampden Park on Tuesday while Croatia won in Turkey.
Steve Clarke’s Scots won their opening Group A game 3-0 against Cyprus on Saturday but reclaimed that result with an impressive performance against three-time European champions Spain.
It was their first win over Spain since 1984 and probably their best result since defeating France in 2007.
“The manager said before he got on the bus to the stadium: ‘This is your chance to leave a legacy as a Scottish player,'” said McTominay.
“Those are the nights in 20-30 years that you remember as a player. If you look at the game, you say I was there. That’s what the game is about.”
Manchester United midfielder McTominay gave the hosts a dream start by delivering a seventh-minute cutback from Andrew Robertson.
Ryan Christie opened up just under a second before Joselu, who scored twice on his debut against Norway at the weekend, hit the bar for Spain.
Lyndon Dykes missed a golden opportunity in first-half injury time to double the Scots’ lead but flicked the ball over the bar after firing on target.
McTominay made no such mistake six minutes after the restart, drilling home a beautiful left-footed volley after excellent work from Kieran Tierney.
Spain pressed late but failed to create many clear chances, while Scotland kept the joy of a raging crowd in Glasgow.
The defeat is a severe early setback for new Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, who was replaced by Luis Enrique after a knockout round defeat by Morocco.
“It’s clear they missed their two chances and we tried, we hit the wood twice, we had a lot of chances, especially in the first half,” Spain midfielder Rodri told Teledeporte.
“We need to fix those mistakes and those things that cost us against these teams.”
Scotland are leading a difficult Group A that also includes Erling Haaland’s Norway and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s Georgia.
In the other Group A match in Batumi, Georgia drew 1-1 with Norway.
The Scandinavians took the lead in the 15th minute through Alexander Sorloth, who replaced the injured Haaland.
But Metz striker Georges Mikautadze equalized on the hour to ensure Georgia didn’t start their bid to qualify for their first major tournament with a defeat.
“It would have been worse if we were standing here and not creating any chances. We had some incredible chances today. That’s life,” said Norway coach Stale Solbakken.
– Croatia beats Turkey –
World Cup semi-finalists Croatia have clinched an impressive 2-0 victory in Turkey to advance into Group D after an opener against Wales.
Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic scored a brace in the first half, with both goals coming from Mario Pasalic.
Croatia are level with Wales on four points after Rob Page’s side beat Latvia 1-0 to claim their first win since Gareth Bale retired.
Striker Kieffer Moore headed home the winning goal for a dominant Wales in the 41st minute.
Switzerland clinched two wins from two games in Group I with a comfortable 3-0 win over Israel.
Goals from Ruben Vargas, Zeki Amdouni and Silvan Widmer helped the Swiss win 5-0 against Belarus.
Romania also have a 100 percent record in the group after beating Belarus 2-1, while Kosovo have two points from as many games after a 1-1 draw with Andorra.
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Source : sports.yahoo.com