Scotland and Switzerland played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the Cologne Stadium on matchday two of the UEFA Euro Cup 2024. The draw takes Scotland to the third place in the group, while Switzerland holds on to the second place. Both nations will feel that they had enough chances to find the crucial goal and secure the victory.
Scott McTominay opened the scoring in the 13ᵗʰ minute with a first-time finish, owing to a deflection from Fabian Schar. 13 minutes later, the evergreen Xherdan Shaqiri scored one of the goals of the tournament already to draw his country level. The rest of the encounter included some mouthwatering action on both ends, albeit without a goal.
Plenty of positives for Scotland
It would not have been a controversial take to rule out Scotland even before the game started, considering their opening-day display against Germany. Steve Clarke and his men, though, had no intention of handing away the points to the Swiss and made the contest a real fight throughout the 90 minutes. “We can take a lot of positives but we can improve even more”, captain Andrew Robertson shared his thoughts after the game.
Pre-match changes to the lineup worked according to plan for the Scots who were content enough to hand their opponents the possession but would argue that they had the better chances in front of goal throughout the game. Kieran Tierney’s injury, however, will be a major drawback from the contest for Steve Clarke. Tierney had to be carried off the pitch and looks set to miss the rest of the tournament. His absence will surely have a huge influence on Scotland’s chances of qualification.
The fate of Group A still hangs in the balance
Germany from Group A has already secured qualification to the knockout stages. Switzerland had the chance to join them but now owing to the draw against Scotland, will have to wait to confirm their place in the further rounds. The fact that the Swiss’ last game is against the tournament favorites, Germany, makes the situation even more difficult for them.
As for Scotland, an uphill task awaits. The draw did manage to open their account in the points table, but even a victory against Hungary in their third match might not be enough. Their negative goal difference of four worsens their case. However, even a third-placed finish could take them to the round of 16, provided that they finish in the top four of the best third-placed teams table.