Scotland reporter notebook: Steve Clarke’s side must show they are not just at Euro 2024 to make up the numbers

Scotland are still at the party and have a chance of making it through to the last 16. They have given themselves this chance after an improved performance and result against Switzerland.

It was a game that Scotland will feel they could have won, but they also could have lost, given the chances the Swiss had. The 1-1 draw gives them something to build on.

They were not the passive Scotland that allowed Germany to boss proceedings in Munich, but a team that scored early and got a foothold in the game. They were on the ball more in the second half and hit the post.

Steve Clarke will know his team can and need to improve ahead of this crucial game against Hungary, but the mood is so much better now compared with the fallout from the Germany game.

Right from the start when ‘Flower of Scotland’ was belted out by the Tartan Army and the squad, you could feel they were up for it with a point to prove. The noise was incredible and if you can’t get inspired by that then there is something wrong.

What a start when Scott McTominay’s deflected effort hit the back of the net; bedlam ensued in the stands. The frustration was that Switzerland came right back into it and equalised through Xherdan Shaqiri’s wonderful goal after a slack pass by Anthony Ralston set him up nicely.

Scotland need to cut out the sloppy play on Sunday, but credit to Ralston who kept going. You could not question his effort.

The big blow, however, was the injury to Kieran Tierney. He was stretchered off and will now miss the rest of the tournament, however long that may be for Scotland.

The injury to Tierney opens the possibility of Clarke changing his formation. Early in his reign, he had to tweak things to accommodate both Tierney and captain Andrew Robertson, and the back three worked with Tierney at left centre-back and Robertson left wing-back.

In the successful Nations League campaign, the Scotland boss did go back to a back four due to injuries and has tried it out in warm-up games for the tournament. I still expect Clarke to go with the back three and Scott McKenna did no wrong when he replaced Tierney around the hour mark in Cologne.

Scotland still need to get goals, with the two at this tournament being an own goal and a shot that took a massive deflection. They all count but we can’t count on strokes of fortune like that all of the time.

Hungary also have a point to prove, having lost both games so far. Their big players have not yet made the desired impact, but there were signs in the second half against Switzerland and flashes against Germany that they will pose a threat to Scotland.

Clarke has talked about four points being the magic target and a win will see Scotland reach that tally. In the two previous Euros, that has been enough to qualify as one of the best third-placed teams, so they would have every chance of progression.

It would be historic and put to bed the fact Scotland have never progressed before. Hungary could potentially get through with three points, but need to win by a reasonable margin to negate their -4 goal difference.

At Euro 2020, Scotland didn’t seem to recover from the exertions of the draw at Wembley on matchday two, by the time Croatia came to Hampden Park, they looked leggy and tired. This time around, assistant head coach John Carver has spoken about learning the lessons of what loading they put on the players.

Given Scotland had to play triple-headers in World Cup qualifying and the Nations League games, it is something they should be able to deal with better.

They have a shot at glory, so it’s time to show Europe the Scots are not just making up the numbers on and off the field.

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