“Losing is not an option.” That’s how the German media put it as they predicted the outcome of the match between Scotland and Hungary.
But we failed to play by the rules as we faltered in our final group game and were eliminated at the last minute at Euro 2024, Kevin Csobos’s latest goal of the tournament sealing a traditional early exit for a country tired of failure. Sure, you can flick through publications around the world and read glowing praise for the Tartan Army, but it’s clear that anyone not wearing a kilt has no intention of watching us play anytime soon.
And that’s Steve Clarke’s battle now. Winning is great but when you don’t, it’s like winning one in 12. You have to do it in exciting style. It’s frustrating that Scotland are the hardest team to watch out of 24 in a tournament where teams like Romania, Albania and Georgia are must-see matches. It’s a theme being covered around the world. Record Sports Getting ready to see the world.
Nemzeti Sports (Hungary)
“I don’t want to overstate it, but when Hungary went one-on-one with Scotland in their last Eurogroup match, it was impossible to miss Hollywood and Mel Gibson’s greatest pep talk ever delivered by a medieval Scottish freedom fighter before the Battle of Stirling, the mouth of William Wallace firing at his troops in the 1995 classic film Dauntless. Luckily, the battle took place on a football field, not a battlefield. Both teams took a wait-and-see approach and took few risks. Scotland in particular deployed three inside defenders as a rule, while their two wing midfielders were almost always in the defensive line.”
Kicker (Germany)
“For a long time the match between Scotland and Hungary was lacking in highlights but that all changed in the closing stages. It was substitute Csobos who, in a hard-fought extra-time match, eliminated Scotland and kept Hungary’s last-16 hopes alive. The message sent to both teams ahead of Scotland’s final group match against Hungary was ‘no losses allowed’ if they did not want to completely squander their chances of reaching the last-16.
L’Equipe (France)
“In an atmosphere of respect and relief, Dominik Szoboszlai and his teammates celebrated for a long time the victory they secured in the final seconds of the match against Scotland (1-0) on Sunday evening. The three points have reawakened their hopes of progressing to the last 16 of the tournament, but it may not be enough.”
Der Spiegel (Germany)
“When the game resumed, both teams were on the offensive and there was heavy exchange of shots. Hungary continued to have chances, with Scotland’s goalkeeper Gunn saving Andras Schäfer’s shot (90th minute) and Kevin Csobos hitting the post moments later (93rd minute). A long break for Vargas’s accident led to 10 minutes of added time, before Csobos made it 1-0 for Hungary with a counter attack in the 90th and 10th minutes.”
Blick (Switzerland)
“European Championship dreams are cruelly dashed like this. Until the very end, Scotland believed they could beat Hungary and progress. But then Kevin Csobós came on. Late in added time, Hungary launched an unexpected attack. Kevin Csobós saved Hungary from elimination, for the time being.”
Now we just have to wait and see who the opponent is. Marco Rossi’s men have three points and still have hope of progressing to the last 16. Meanwhile, it’s time for Scotland to pack their bags and go home.”
AS (Spain)
“Scotland and Hungary knew that the majority of their options were to win the game and wait for the results of the remaining group matches to find out whether they could progress to the last 16 as one of the best three teams. However, both teams played out far from pre-match expectations, spending the entire first half moving the ball up and down the field and never creating any danger for Gan and Gulacsi’s goals.”
Magyar (Hungarian)
“From the Hungary match and from Dominik Szoboszlai’s comments after the match, you can see that Marco Rossi did not want to take any risks in order to win by more goals. From the start, we wanted to win, even if it was just one goal, and we achieved that against Scotland. And with the three points we have a good chance of progressing.”