Criticized for a meek surrender against Germany in their opening Euro 2024 game, Scotland manager Steve Clarke said his players rediscovered their warrior spirit in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Switzerland.
Scotland went ahead early in Cologne through Scott McTominay, only for Xherdan Shaqiri to score a sensational equalizer soon after, and both sides could have won a gripping clash with Grant Hanley hitting the post for Scotland.
It was the sort of display the Tartan Army had demanded after the 5-1 capitulation to the tournament hosts in Munich and Clarke said the performance was much more like what he had come to expect from his team.
“They’re going to feel a lot better going into the next game on the back of that kind of performance, which is what we are,” Clarke said. “This is how we play, how we work.
“We’ve shown that as well as the aggression and the fight and the dirty side of the game, we can play. They ran themselves into the ground against a very good side.”
Third-placed Scotland will go into Sunday’s final Group A game against Hungary knowing a victory would give them every chance of reaching the knockout stage of a tournament for the first time.
The one negative for Scotland was an injury to defender Kieran Tierney who Clarke said will definitely miss the Hungary game.
In Stuttgart, Jamal Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan fired Germany to a 2-0 win over Hungary as the hosts became the first side to qualify for the knockout stage.
But Croatia are in danger of an early exit after Klaus Gjasula’s stoppage-time strike secured a stunning 2-2 draw in their Group B clash in Hamburg.
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