Steve Clarke must have felt these Euros couldn’t get any worse after that bin fire of a defeat to Hungary.
Yet, every time another so-called no-hoper made it into the last 16 in Germany, it’s like the gods of football are standing with a fuel can tipping more petrol on the inferno.
Since last Sunday and Scotland’s exit, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Romania and Georgia have shown how to reach the knockout stages by crossing the halfway line and playing with freedom.
When Scotland hit the heights during qualifying, they earned all the praise in the world. Now they’re seeing what happens when a manager and players let themselves and the country down big time.
Victory over Hungary would have sealed a place in the last 16, at Slovenia’s expense, but the way the Scots went about trying to win the game was ridiculous.
No shots on goal in the first half.
Georgia’s Giorgi Gvelesiani is overwhelmed by emotions after securing a place in the last 16
Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Portugal
Georgia revel in the glory of it all, having finished fourth in Scotland’s qualifying section
No substitutes until the 76th minute.
No shots on target until eight minutes into added time.
It was so far removed from the performance which shocked Spain in qualifying that UEFA should have scrapped the post-match urine samples and replaced them with DNA tests.
The group of players who stormed through qualifying looked terrified in their surroundings. Instead of treating Euro 2024 as a chance to write their names in the history books, they played like a team signing their own death warrants.
Watching the likes of Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia and Romania surge into the last 16 by playing with flair and attacking guile was painful enough.
Nothing summed up the whole debacle more than a Georgia side who finished nine points behind the Scots in qualifying enjoying the greatest night of their footballing lives in their first-ever major tournament.
Romania’s Ianis Hagi couldn’t get a game at Ibrox but he’s good enough for Europe’s elite stage
While Scotland talked about making history, a Georgian side who finished *fourth* in the same qualifying group went out and did it. Socks round their ankles, they played as if their lives depended on it.
They rode their luck at times, and some made the point that Scotland were denied a clear penalty against Hungary while VAR did the Georgians a huge turn. Maybe so, but they were already a goal up before being awarded a contentious penalty because they actually managed to muster a shot on target inside five minutes.
So long as a 24-team tournament rewards the best third-place finishers, the final group games will always conjure up big, bold performances from smaller nations who have to win to stay in the competition. All of them, that is, bar one.
In Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Georgians boast a world-class matchwinner, something Scotland haven’t had since Kenny Dalglish.
If that really is the difference between success and failure at this level, however, you’d love to know how in god’s name Slovenia, Austria, Romania and Slovakia managed to get through.
We’ve heard all the excuses about population size and how a nation of 5.4million can’t possibly expect to mix it with the big boys.
Slovenia are a nation of just 2.2million people, most of whom will be glued to their next match
Slovenia, a nation of 2.2m people, blew that theory to smithereens by playing England, Denmark and Serbia and coming out unbeaten.
After all that talk of Scotland drawing on past experience, Matjaz Kek’s team had no experience to speak of at all.
Reaching their first Euros in 24 years, they still found a way to finish level with the Danes on points, goal difference and goal scored. They only missed out on second place in Group C because of a booking for their assistant coach in the first game.
At 6ft 5ins, 21-year-old RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko is tipped to be the next Erling Haaland. Beyond a smattering of players in La Liga or Serie A, there are no players from Manchester United or Liverpool or Aston Villa in the Slovenian ranks.
Slovakia? They have a population the same size as Scotland and were playing in their third straight Euros, reaching the last 16 for the second time.
Austria – who couldn’t beat Scotland in qualifying for the last tournament – reacted by appointing a world-class coach in Ralf Rangnick and bounced back by going toe-to-toe with a Netherlands team packed with world-class superstars. They were fearless.
Austria have been the standout team in Germany so far, with their high-energy attacking style
Attacking football offers no surefire guarantee of success. Croatia, with Luka Modric pulling the strings, crashed out.
Yet, when a team barely touches the ball in an opponent’s 18-yard box they have no chance whatsoever of winning games. And Scotland managed a pitiful three shots on target in 270 minutes.
Forget that stuff about time being a great healer. Since Sunday, people have grown *more* angry, not less.
On almost every metric, Clarke’s side measure up as the most hopeless team at Euro 2024. Most goals conceded, worst overall goal difference, fewest expected goals, fewest shots on target. Over three games they mustered 17 shots on goal of any description, the joint fewest since Northern Ireland at Euro 2016.
No team had more free-kicks in the first round. Strip away Grant Hanley hitting the post against Switzerland and the other 52 came to absolutely nothing.
Next time he faces the media – it could be months – Steve Clarke can point to a perfect storm of injuries, poor form and bad refereeing.
Clarke departed Germany with his Scotland side roundly judged to have been the worst side
A fully-fit Aaron Hickey would have been a better option than Celtic’s second-choice right-back.
Throwing Lyndon Dykes on against Hungary might have sparked a fire, just as it did in Norway.
Key players like Scott McTominay and John McGinn were knackered or miles off it. They were denied a decent penalty shout in the final minutes of the final game.
While that would normally spark national uproar, no one got their knickers in a twist this time. They knew the Scots didn’t deserve to win the Hungary game and didn’t trust them to put the penalty on target anyway.
While other small countries turned up and gave it a hell of a go, Clarke stuck with three central defenders and two holding midfielders in a must-win game for 76 minutes. Attitude and approach was as big a problem as ability.
For five years the Scotland boss has done a decent job of bringing the Tartan Army back on side.
After one win in 12 games, however, goodwill is almost gone and Nations League games against Poland, Croatia and Portugal offer long odds of bringing it back.
The Scotland players are consoled by Clarke in Stuttgart, but fans back home are less forgiving
The turn out for the Poland game at Hampden on September 5 will be telling. A fanbase who spent thousands flying to Germany – only to perform better than the team – might not fancy walking another 500 miles for a repeat of that Hungary performance.
Poland now feels like a litmus test of the manager’s approval ratings after a week when they’ve plunged so fast even Joe Biden is looking on in pity.
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KNOWING when to sign off a football column for the close season is like trying to put the telly on without seeing Keir Starmer’s face staring back.
There’s no line between the old season and the new. The Euros are barely even halfway through and already the pre-season friendlies are kicking into life.
Let’s be grateful for small mercies. Scotland’s performance in Germany offers a chance to rest weary limbs and recharge the batteries before another season of combat. See you in August.
