Scotland 1-3 Croatia: RECAP | Scotland out of Euro 2020, bottom of Group D| Perisic header and Modric curler silence Hampden| McGregor equalised with Scotland's first Euro goal after Vlasic opener
History was waiting for Steve Clarke and his team with the national side never having passed the opening stage of a major mens’ tournament before – and it all came down to 90 minutes on the southside of Glasgow.
Friday night’s draw with England at Wembley was big – but this had even more at stake.
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Hide AdIt hadn’t been easy after a rocky opening to the European Championships and a home defeat to the Czech Republic. The England result was a boost but then Billy Gilmour’s covid test result after some midfield heroics in the Auld Enemy clash threw a second spanner in the works for Steve Clarke, who already had to cope without another ex-Rangers youth John Fleck for the same reasons at the pre-tournament training camp in Spain.
But it all came down to Hampden and Croatia and The Scotsman was be in the ground bringing you all the action and reaction from Hampden and all the pre-match build-up – and with a match of such magnitude… there was plenty of that.
Follow the live blog below for real-time as it happened match action and reaction.
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Scotland v Croatia: RECAP
Key Events
- CROATIA 3 (Vlasic 16, Modric 61, Perisic 77) SCOTLAND 1 (McGregor 41) - ht 1-1
- 🇭🇷 Croatia finish second and progress to the knock-out stages
- 🏴 Scotland eliminated from Group D
- 🏴: Marshall, McTominay, Hanley (McKenna 31), Tierney, O’Donnell (Patterson 83), Robertson, Armstrong (Fraser 68) , McGregor, McGinn, Adams (Nisbet 83), Dykes.
Welcome
Hello from a very sunny southside of Glasgow.
Scotland are on the precipice of history with a win over Croatia in a few hours’ time enough to send the national team through to the second round of a major mens’ competition for the first time - EVER!
We’ll bring you all the build-up before the match and then updates as the action gets underway at Hampden. Post-match will be the usual analysis and insight - and hopefully celebrations from the evening’s football.
We’ve been here before
Scotland on the final day of a group stage with it all to play for isn’t an unusual occurence (when we’ve qualified).
Here’s a look back at the final day drama of past campaigns - and thanjfully goal difference doesn’t come into the reckoning toning.
A win is all that’s required.
The history of final group game heartache Scotland will be looking to avoid in Croatia crunch match
Scotland are on the verge of history – if they can defeat Croatia in their final Euro 2020 group fixture. But this isn’t the first time it’s all boiled down to the last kick at a major championships.
⏰ The best of times....
Kick-off is at 8pm, but it’s also worth noting the time of the teamsheets’ arrival.
Last Monday’s announcement caused shock with Kieran Tierney missing, and then Friday’s line-ups included Billy Gilmour which again made headlines.
Will there be big news to come this evening?
⏰ The time to set your watch for is 6.45pm - the line-ups are finalised approximately 75 minutes before kick-off... though Steve Clarke has previously admitted he tells his team who’s playing on the morning of the match.
Opposition warm-up
Croatia, the World Cup finalists from 2018, warmed up for tonight’s match with a Glasgow training session at Partick Thistle’s Firhill Stadium last night.
Euro diary
The latest tournament dispatches from Alan Pattullo
Alan Pattullo's Euro 2020 diary: Who is Scotland's youngest ever internationalist? Clue - it's not Billy Gilmour
It was nice to return for a hopefully brief stopover at home while covering Scotland at Euro 2020 and find a copy of a much-anticipated book waiting on the doorstep.
Hampden in the sun
Told you earlier it’s a cracking day in Glasgow...
...and Hampden is looking sensational
IN QUOTES
Liam CooperJohn Fleck got through it in our camp a couple of weeks ago without having any symptoms. So let’s hope Billy stays that way as well.
We’re all just really gutted for Billy, first and foremost. He’s just announced himself on the world stage with a great performance at Wembley – and now this happens.
But that’s the world we’re living in at the moment, the world we’ve all had to adjust to.
Our love goes out to him and we’re all hoping he makes a speedy recovery. We’ll be doing whatever we can to lift his spirits.
Tight call
There’s a chance - a slim one, but a chance - second place in Group D might end up coming down to disciplinary records...
Here’s how it could happen - and how things stand at the moment.
How yellow cards could decide Scotland's fate and second place in Euro 2020 Group D
Scotland only need a win against Croatia to qualify for the next round of Euro 2020 – but how they finish and where they go in the next round could come down to an unusual qualification quirk, if a particular set of results fall into place during the final matches of Group D.