Steve Clarke praised his Scotland team for showing the true version of themselves after a fine display in a 1-1 draw with Switzerland.
Scotland were widely criticised after they lost 5-1 against Germany in the opening game of Euro 2024 but this result in Cologne keeps hopes alive of a place in the last 16, which should be secured if they beat Hungary in Stuttgart on Sunday.
“This is the way we have been playing as a team over the last three or four years,” Clarke said. “It’s why we are here at a tournament. We knew what we had to do. It was a good team performance against a good opponent.
“We are going to feel a lot better going into the next game on the back of that performance. This is how we play, this is how we work. As well as the dirty side of the game, we can play. We got the ball down and created some chances. We did what we had to do, we are still in the competition and that was the most important thing. That was what we expected: a good reaction from a disappointing night. We are still alive in the tournament.”
Scotland had taken the lead after Scott McTominay’s shot was deflected into the Switzerland net by Fabian Schär. Xherdan Shaqiri notched the equaliser before half-time.
“The reality is, when the draw was made and we were up against the host nation in the opening game, you are looking at the other two games in the group and thinking: ‘Maybe that’s where the points are going to come from,’” Clarke said. “That’s the way it has turned out.
“Everybody was trying to overhype the fact we had to get something out of this game but the reality was, even if we had played well against Germany, we probably would have been in a similar position of having to get something from this game to keep us alive going into the last game. That is what we have done.”
Clarke confirmed Kieran Tierney would miss the Hungary game after sustaining what appeared to be a serious hamstring injury.
