Scotland sent packing as Croatia rally to qualify for EURO knockout stages
Scotland’s journey at Euro 2020 came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Croatia despite a battling performance at Hampden Park.
Having taken just a point from their first two fixtures, Steve Clarke’s side had to win to stand a chance of progression.
But strikes from Nikola Vlasic, Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic saw the 2018 World Cup finalists come out on top, with Callum McGregor netting in response.
Croatia hit the lead in the 17th minute through Nikola Vlasic, who calmly controlled Ivan Perisic’s headed knock back before finding the bottom left corner.
That didn’t deter Scotland though, who hit back just before the break. After Croatia had failed to clear their lines, Callum McGregor was presented with an opportunity which he took with both hands as he hit a low shot into the bottom corner to score his team’s first goal of the tournament and send Hampden Park wild.
But their opposition showed their quality in the second half and Modric’s superb outside-of-the-boot effort in the 62nd minute meant the Scots had it all to do again, before Perisic’s header 15 minutes later wrapped things up.
The result means Scotland finish bottom of Group D, with the draw at Wembley last Friday proving to be the only point collected. Croatia, meanwhile, progress to the next round thanks to their third goal, which saw them leapfrog Czech Republic into second place on goals scored.
More to follow…
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