Scotland U21s competed with ‘as good as it gets’ Spain – Scot Gemmill

Scotland Under-21 head coach Scot Gemmill believes Friday’s victors Spain are “as good as it gets at this level”.

Spain triumphed 2-1 at Tynecastle with Dean Huijsen and Matteo Joseph netting either side of Dire Mebude’s equaliser.

“They’re very impressive,” said Gemmill.

“It was going to take a huge effort tonight but the players can leave with their heads held really high because they know they’ve been in a game home and away and we’ve gone toe-to-toe with the potential champions of the tournament.

“That’s as good as it gets at this level. They dominated and dictated but we knew that was the way the game was going to go. The details we’d prepared for, the players were trying to do that and as a coach that’s all you can ask for.

“We saw a Scotland team blocking shots, working hard, heading, doing everything they could and that’s the demand we placed on them so I was really pleased with that. They weren’t cutting us apart.”

Scotland sit second in European Under-21 Championship Qualifying Group B but are only above Belgium on goal difference with three games to play. Hungary are three points behind the Scots and the Belgians.

The three best runners-up qualify automatically for next year’s finals in Slovakia, with the others going into play-offs.

“It’s really exciting,” added Gemmill.

“They know that it’s great to put that demand on them when we go to Malta [on Tuesday]. That game matters so much and we have to do what we need to do to take it into October.”

Scotland face Belgium at home and Kazakhstan away next month.