euro story
Final: 2
Best Performance: Group Stage (1992, 1996)
Scotland celebrated some memorable victories in Euro qualifying but Tartan Army have only made it to the group stage twice so far. At Euro ’96, Craig Brown’s side were close to reaching the knockout stage, when the Dutch advanced to the quarter-finals as they scored more goals behind England.
key player
John McGuin (29 caps, 7 goals)
Be it important tackles, fatal passes or scoring crucial goals, McGinn is the pacemaker at the heart of the Scottish midfield.
Lyndon Dykes (7 caps, 2 goals)
The Australian-born striker joined Steve Clarke’s team late, but Dykes’ physical presence, coupled with good ball handling, is essential to the Scots’ attack. He had already scored against Scotland’s first rivals Czech Republic in the UEFA Nations League in September 2020.
Special goals in Euro final
- Following a brilliant goal from Eli McCoist against Switzerland, the Scots dreamed of a place in the quarter-finals of Euro ’96, before Patrick Kluivert scored a late consolation goal against England and the Dutch scored.
- James McFadden’s great distance mess at Prinzenpark gave the Scots a second win against France in qualifying for 2008, but Alex McLeish’s team missed the final as they lost the previous match at home to world champions Italy.
- 1967, with Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland at the British Home Championship – also counted as qualification for UEFA Euro 1968: Jim McCulleug’s winning goal against England at Wembley was the same as Sir Alf Ramsay’s 1966 World Champion It was the first defeat.
memorable moments
- For a brief moment, David Marshall wasn’t sure if he would be allowed to celebrate, but thanks to a penalty save against Aleksandar Mitrovic in the Euro 2020 play-off final against Serbia, Scotland scored the first time in a major tournament. Qualified for 22 years.
- Scotland’s experience with penalties has not always been positive, especially against England in 1996. The Scots had the upper hand after a 1–0 deficit, but David Seaman was able to save a Gary McAllister penalty before Paul Gascoigne made everything clear for England.
- The Scots missed the knockout stage at Euro ’92, but 5,000 fans traveling to Sweden were awarded a UEFA Fair Play award for their friendly and athletic demeanor.
statistics
Most appearances in finals
6: Andy Gorham, Gary McAllister, Stuart McCall
5: Gordon Durie, Stewart McKimi, Allie McCoist
4: Tom Boyd, Kevin Gallacher
Most goals in finals
1: Allie McCoist, Paul McStay, Brian McClure, Gary McAllister
Excellent: Before qualifying for UEFA Euro 2020, Scotland last played in a major tournament in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
Did you already know?
Scotland won two penalty shoot-outs in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying: in the play-off semi-final against Israel and in the play-off final against Serbia. He converted all ten punishments.
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