Scotland’s stunning levvller denied
Scotland’s stunning levvller denied in their loss to Croatia
Scotland, who had only won once in their previous 14 games and were without several key players.
Fought valiantly in a tight match and appeared to have secured a draw in the 95th minute when Kristijan Jakic’s own goal against Che Adams was disallowed for offside.
The result produced a dramatic conclusion.
When Ryan Christie scored Scotland’s first goal, it was all thanks to Luka Sucic’s deft swipe of Ben Doak’s cross into his path.
However, their lead was short lived as Igor Matanovic leveled the score just before halftime by guiding Ivan Perisic’s cutback into the bottom corner.
As a result, Croatia dominated the second half and, on minute 70, Zlatko Dalic’s team broke through Scotland’s resistance.
Borna Sosa’s strong close-range shot was first stopped by goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
But Andrej Kramaric was waiting at the back post to head home the rebound.
Before the Torino striker believed he had found a pivotal moment.
Scotland had their best chances to equalize, with John Souttar hitting wide and Adams coming close with a late lob.
After deflecting a hard shot off of Jakic, he finished Kenny McLean’s back-heel pass.
Slipping around the back of the Croatian defense.
The celebrations in Scotland were short-lived, though, as the Video Assistant Referee saw that Adams was offside.
The players from Scotland were distraught as the final whistle blew.
And they are currently bottom of Nations League A1 after losing all three of their matches. On Tuesday, they will play Portugal at Hampden.
There was a feeling Scotland were going to get what their performance deserved when Adams spun away in delight after believing he had helped salvage a draw with the game’s last kick.
With more than ten players out, such as John McGinn, Aaron Hickey, Lewis Ferguson, Scott McKenna.
And Adams being too injured to play right away.
Clarke’s injured team was largely in control and limited Croatia to few well-executed opportunities.
On the other side, Doak, who is 18 years old, excelled in his debut start.
Pushing the team forward down the right wing and setting the stage for Christie’s opening goal.
Like the defeats by Portugal and Poland, there were enough positive moments.
But the game ended in a narrow one-goal loss.
The numbers are depressing because they have only won once, against Gibraltar.
In their previous 15 games and have allowed up 35 goals in that time.
That, however, does not provide the complete picture.
Even with everyone available and fit, it was always going to be difficult for Scotland to play the best in European international football.
Although Clarke has ensured Scotland’s competitiveness in any case.
The longer the bad streak persists, the more talk of the benefits will be ignored.
Experience from Croatia completes the task
Although Croatia is getting older and is not as strong as they were in the previous two World Cups.
They still possess the talent and skill to win when it matters most.
At 35, Perisic contributed to both goals as he split Scotland apart by breaking free down the right side.
After earning his 181st cap, Luka Modric gave his team enough dominance to set up this triumph.
And on his 99th Croatian appearance, Kramaric scored his 30th goal for his country.
Despite having a smaller population than Scotland, Croatia continues to produce elite athletes, making many European countries envious.
They would do well to follow in the footsteps of this group that consistently produces results, while their golden generation fights against the fading of the light.
What they expressed
Steve Clarke, head coach of Scotland: “I felt we were brave with the ball.
We made an effort to play and generate opportunities.
We should probably wait to analyze the game until we return to Glasgow because there is so much sadness in the dressing room.
But I think we are headed in the right direction.
We have not gotten worse.
All we need to do is keep trying and believing.
statistic for the match
Scotland lost four straight games for the first time in five years, having last done so in October 2019. This extended their longest losing streak in competitive matches in history (P9 D3 L6).
More than any other side, Scotland has dropped six points from winning positions in the 2024–2025 Nations League.
Craig Gordon, 41 years and 286 days, is the oldest player to start a match in Scotland’s history. He is the third player over 40 to achieve this feat, after Jim Leighton and David Weir.
Gordon made history as the oldest player to feature for Scotland in June when he entered as a substitute against Finland.
With his start against Poland in October 1965, Ben Doak (18y 336d) became the youngest player to start a competitive match for Scotland since Willie Johnston (18y 298d).
After going winless in their first five meetings, Croatia has won its past two games against Scotland (D3 L2).
On his 55th appearance, Ryan Christie scored his seventh goal for Scotland, five of which came away from home.
In his last six international starts, he has already scored twice as many goals as he did in his previous 20.
On his 99th appearance, Andrej Kramaric scored his 30th goal for Croatia; since the beginning of 2023.
He has scored twice as many goals (8) as any other Croatian player.
With over half of those goals (16) coming since he turned 30.
