T WIN AGAINST DIRECT COMPETITORS
Group A of the EURO 2024 qualifiers has 5 teams, including Scotland, Spain (Spain), Norway, Georgia, Cyprus; 2 teams will be selected to go straight to the finals. In theory, Spain is the strongest team while Georgia and Cyprus are much weaker than the other 2 teams. So the scenario throughout this group is of course that Scotland and Norway will compete head-to-head for the remaining spot in the finals, along with Spain. For Scotland, what could be more important than a win on the field of their direct competitor, Norway?
Not only did Scotland win in Norway, they also took all 3 points against Cyprus in their opening match, then unexpectedly defeated Spain to temporarily lead Group A with 9 absolute points. Winning another match against the visiting team Georgia in the early morning of June 21 (Vietnam time), Scotland will be completely assured of an official place at the EURO 2024 finals. What a pleasant surprise!
The Scottish team is surprising all of Europe.
The Scots may not even believe what Steve Clarke's team is doing. "When was the last time Scotland scored two goals in the last minutes to win away from home in a competitive match?", The Scotsman asked, also considering it an answer. Granted, that's a very difficult question. It should be emphasized: it was a comeback win, against the most important opponent! Who scored the goal to put Norway ahead? The answer is: the most feared striker in Europe in the 2022-2023 season - Erling Haaland, who just helped Manchester City win a historic "treble", with 52 goals scored by himself.
Convincing victories
AFP
With the "monster" Haaland in the center forward position; captain of both the national team and Arsenal FC Martin Odegaard in midfield; and many battle-hardened players returning from Serie A, La Liga, Premier League, Bundesliga, Norway took the lead at home in Oslo as a matter of course. But at the end of the match, when Norway confidently withdrew Haaland to rest, Scotland won with goals from Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean. In fact, no one thought those players could score!
WHO ARE THE STANDOUT CHARACTERS?
Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean both played for second-tier clubs in England. McLean came off the bench in the 79th minute, and scored the winning goal exactly 10 minutes later. He touched the ball 7 times, shot 1. People did not expect McLean to be put on the field, nor did they expect Dykes to be on the field until the end. During the whole match, Dykes only had 1 shot. He seized the opportunity from an individual mistake of the opponent's defense to equalize the score, then assisted McLean to score the winning goal. On the one hand, Dykes and McLean scored because of their own confidence. More importantly, it was the great faith of coach Clarke.
Confidence, fighting spirit, and team play are the greatest weapons that coach Clarke has created. Scotland does not rely on physical strength, let alone on technique or class. The Scottish team knows how to "overcome" its own weaknesses. It should be noted: this is not a temporary success. Taking office in 2019, Clarke was the coach who brought Scotland back to a major tournament for the first time in 22 years (EURO 2020, the tournament was postponed to 2021). After that tournament, Scotland won 6 consecutive matches - something the team had not done in nearly 100 years. The temporary top spot in the EURO 2024 qualifiers was first of all a pleasant surprise. But it was also a worthy result of Steve Clarke's coaching style. Under Clarke, Scotland also almost returned to the World Cup (stopping in the play-off round). This time, they cannot miss the opportunity.
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