Scotland reporter notebook: How Steve Clarke’s side avoided stress to qualify for Euro 2024

Well, here we are. Scotland will be appearing in their second consecutive European Championship final and this time the Scottish method was the less stressful although at times dramatic.

Never mind picking up a point here and there, Scotland came flying out of the traps, five wins from five for all, but qualified in September.

It would have been great if Scotland had got the point they needed in Seville to celebrate in front of their own fans, but that was not to be. I’m sure Steve Clarke and the Tartan Army would have picked this up in the early days of the band.

Instead, Spain got the job done on Scotland’s behalf by beating Norway 1-0 in Oslo, ensuring Clarke’s side qualify for next summer’s two-legged tournament of the end.

No play-offs this time, no group heartbreak final match, just an outright win early and a marker. I hope this makes its way into future qualifying groups.

The commercial approach and mentality can be attributed to the determination of the players who wanted to return to the Euros after feeling disappointed in 2021 and the frustration of the play-off semi-final defeat to Ukraine for the last Cup of the world. It also depends on the growing experience and continued development of a team led by Clarke.

I was lucky enough to be one of six Scottish journalists to be in Belgrade when Scotland won on penalties to reach Euro 2020. It was joy and relief to return to football tournaments that were obvious. After failing to qualify since 1998, Scotland long stopped believing they could qualify and simply hoped they would qualify.

Let’s go back to March and that opening double header. Cyprus are first at home, lowest seed in the group and a great opportunity to get off to a good start. A familiar face in Temuri Ketsbaia, the former Newcastle, Wolves and Dundee midfielder, was in charge of Cyprus. Ketsbaia was in charge of his native Georgia when they prevented Scotland from qualifying for Euro 2016. Scotland took a deserved lead before half-time, but the match was never put to the test. read until the closing stages when substitute Scott McTominay scored a late brace.

His reward was starting against top-seeded Spain. Scotland received a boost ahead of the match when Georgia and Norway drew in Batumi. If Scotland could win, then they were flying on a plane – and they won.

From the kick-off, Scotland entered Spain. McTominay’s early goal helped. They had to take their chances and defend well, but at half time it felt like they should have been further in front with Ryan Christie and Lyndon Dykes missing chances, but in the end we shouldn’t have worry. McTominay again, after good play from Kieran Tierney on the left, gave Scotland a two goal lead.

After the match, Rodri was unhappy with the layout of the pitch at Hampden Park, the way Scotland had approached the game and the time wasted – a shame. Scotland claimed their first victory against Spain since 1984 and it was already looking like a special campaign.

In June, the match against Norway was already shaping up to be crucial. Could Scotland win the first three group matches for the first time since 2006? You bet they could, but it wasn’t easy.

Erling Haaland showed in flash how dangerous he is, but it was only from the penalty spot that he beat Angus Gunn. Scotland were not at their best and did not threaten the Norwegian goal sufficiently until the end of the match, when Lyndon Dykes did not give up on recovering the ball after a mix-up in the Norwegian defense. Incredibly, Kenny McLean scored just over a minute later to give Scotland victory. I have to admit I jumped into the press box when that goal was scored in 35 degree heat in Oslo. We all knew the importance of that goal on the field, in the dugout and away. It wasn’t a great performance, but it was a victory. The never-say-die attitude and character scored the points.

The aftermath of this victory was more difficult than it could have been due to the weather in Glasgow. When Callum McGregor gave Scotland the lead after six minutes against Georgia at Hampden Park, the pitch was already wet with rain following a heavy downpour in Glasgow. The referee stopped the match which lasted 90 minutes while ground staff cleared the pitch of surface water. Play eventually resumed and McTominay scored the winning goal again to make it 12 points in four games. What a start and already qualification was close. Clarke took nothing for granted although he let it slip that Scotland had made a good start.

By September, Scotland knew that a victory in Cyprus would put them on the verge of qualification. From the way Scotland got out of the traps, you could tell they meant business. What a performance in the first half. McTominay scored again, showing how vital he is to the national team even though he wasn’t playing much for Manchester United at the time. John McGinn continued to rise in the goalscoring charts, but it was his former Hibernian teammate Ryan Porteous that Clarke left a special mention, not because he scored his first goal in Scotland but because of his fantastic blocking late in the match and to preserve a clean sheet for the team.

The 150th Anniversary Heritage match at Hampden Park against England showed Scotland they still had a gap to close between the top nations as the Auld Enemy dominated and deservedly won 3-1 at home Scottish football. It was a friendly match if there can be such a thing in the world’s oldest international rivalry.

By the time Scotland were in Seville, they knew they had two chances to qualify that evening. First, they either win or draw against Spain, or second, Norway lose points against Cyprus on the same night.

Despite some early scares, Scotland managed to gain the upper hand in the match and were at half-time with everything tied. After the restart, the Tartan Army saw a goal and got a moment where it looked like it was destined to be their night… until VAR intervened. McTominay once again produced a moment of magic to score directly from a free kick from a tight angle. It was madness at La Cartuja Stadium away, but Dutch referee Serdar Gozubuyuk was called to the monitor and disallowed the goal because Jack Hendry was in an offside position and, in the officials’ opinion, active, although it seemed that the initial decision was a foul by Hendry on the Spanish goalkeeper.

Spain then improved their game and scored twice in the last 15 minutes. While Norway beat Cyprus in Larnaca, Scotland will have to wait to qualify.

As Scottish fans traveled to Lille for a friendly against France, they filled the bars – not to catch the latest news from the Rugby World Cup taking place in the country, but to see Spain defeat Norway in Oslo.

They had a sense of déjà vu when Alvaro Morata’s first-half strike was disallowed by VAR for offside and they had to wait for another long period of VAR in the second half, only for the decision went in their favor as Gavi scored what turned out to be the winner. in the 49th minute.

Spain’s victory sparked widespread celebrations among Scotland fans traveling to France – their joy contrasting with the despair of those around them in Lille following France’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat against reigning champions South Africa, who saw the hosts collapse.

Attention will turn to French footballers next summer as they travel to Germany as one of the tournament favorites where Scotland could face them.

Clarke’s side have qualified with two matches remaining and they will want to win the group, but with the head-to-head level, Spain’s superior goal difference gives them that advantage.

Scotland must win in Tbilisi, however. Although no member of the current Scotland squad played in the 2007 and 2015 defeats that derailed European qualification, it is a psychological question. Just go and show that Scotland can beat Georgia on their own turf. That would just put the icing on the cake by qualifying out of a group for the first time since qualifying for the France 1998 World Cup.

Their final qualifier will see them face Norway at Hampden Park in a match which Steve Clarke can try to build further momentum against Germany.