Scotland striker George Hirst insists there were positives to take despite a crushing 3-0 defeat to Greece at Hampden Park that saw Steve Clarke’s men surrender their 1-0 first-leg advantage in the UEFA Nations League play-offs.
Hirst, who made his international debut during the two-legged tie, believes the Scots will be out for revenge when they meet Greece again later this year in World Cup qualifying.
“Definitely not the result we wanted. Definitely not the result we planned for,” the Ipswich Town forward admitted after Scotland were booed off the pitch by fed-up Tartan Army punters.
“But you know, there’s plenty of positives to take from both performances, and yeah, we are going to get the chance to have revenge on them a little bit later in the year when they come back for the World Cup qualifiers, so that’s the plan.”
The 26-year-old was a late addition to Clarke’s squad in the March international window after FIFA approved his switch to represent Scotland at senior level, having previously played for England at youth level.
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And despite the disappointment of relegation to Section B of the Nations League, Hirst reflected positively on his first experience in the Scotland camp.
“It’s been an incredible week for myself, I couldn’t have enjoyed it more, to be honest,” he said. “Bar the result, it’s been absolutely awesome to be a part of it and see how it works.
“To make my Scotland debut, it’s been absolutely massive. I’m just really delighted to be here and I hope I can do enough at my club going forward to cement myself in the squad.
“The lads have made me feel so welcome and feel so at home, so that’s been wicked. Obviously, it would have been nice to have topped it off with a result, but that wasn’t to be. We’ve got plenty of lessons to learn.”
Scotland now shift their focus to the World Cup qualification campaign, where they will have another chance to test themselves against Greece and push for a place at the 2026 tournament, which is set to take place across North America.
