To Stuttgart then for Scotland and Hungary — where a winner will like guarantee one of them a passage through to the round of 16.
After being thumped 5-1 by Germany in the opening game of the competition Scotland responded in style. A fine move down the left ended with Scott McTominay’s scuffed shot going in off Switzerland defender Fabian Schar after 13 minutes.
Advertisement
The lead did not last long though and the equaliser was a stunner — Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri firing home from the edge of the box after Anthony Ralston’s woeful pass.
A pulsating battle ensued as both sides pushed for a winner with Arsenal full-back Kieran Tierney carried off in clear pain with a leg injury.
Breel Embolo had a goal ruled out for offside and Zeki Amdouni missed a great late chance for Switzerland — but Scotland, who hit the post through Grant Hanley, will know a win in Stuttgart will send them through to the round of 16.
Switzerland now have four points and only a hammering by Germany could eliminate them.
The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell, Patrick Boyland and Jacob Whitehead analysed the action.
Was it McTominay’s goal or an own goal?
Football has several enduring mysteries. Who stole the World Cup trophy in 1966? What happened to Ronaldo before the 1998 World Cup final? For a while, UEFA looked as if they were about to provide another — why was McTominay’s opening goal for Scotland initially given as a Fabian Schar own goal?
Some context: McTominay’s shot was slightly scuffed and looked unlikely to beat Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who was perfectly set to catch it. Yet it was, undoubtedly, on target.
The only thing which sent it in was the extension of Schar’s leg, the deflection bamboozling Sommer, and sending the ball softly arcing into the Swiss net. Unfortunate, and Schar’s fault — but he must have thought that the annals of history would record the opener as McTominay’s strike, with the Scottish midfielder’s effort on target. Not so.
UEFA officials initially marked it down as an own goal. Why? When asked in the stadium, one official from UEFA’s communications department said they believed it was down to the change of direction — but that would take any shot with even a slight diversion away from the attacking side.
A more likely reason seemed to be a law change which was introduced last season, originally for offside, which states that if the defender had time to control the ball, and made an attempt to play it, then the offside does not apply. The same reasoning, in this case, might have been applied to the own goal — with Schar clearly making a deliberate attempt to control the ball. UEFA said it would confirm its reasoning.
Advertisement
An hour passed, UEFA’s goal-checking beavers gnawing away at the issue — before the answer finally came. McTominay goal. Mystery solved.
Jacob Whitehead
Why was Gilmour left out against Germany?
As the ball fell from the sky in the 13th minute, most players would have been looking for an empty seat in the stand to launch the ball into. Not Billy Gilmour.
He chested it down, hooked a volley over the shoulder of his marker and set Scotland on their way to the opening goal.
That is the composure the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder brings to the team, which only made his omission against Germany on Friday even more surprising. Under Roberto De Zerbi, he found a niche in his system that accelerated his development over the past 18 months.
The 23-year-old is not just a natural playmaker who can take the ball under pressure and get Scotland playing, his athleticism has gone to another level and that means he is now astute at covering the ground and breaking up play.
Alongside Celtic captain Callum McGregor, the pair gave Scotland a much more reliable way of building possession.
They still lacked incision and often played the ball in a horseshoe shape across the back five but when Gilmour received the ball, it felt like Scotland had someone with the footballing brain to be more ambitious. He lasted 79 impressive minutes.
Jordan Campbell
Where has this Shaqiri been for Chicago Fire?
Shaqiri has underwhelmed with Chicago Fire this season. Having scored just twice across 745 minutes, the 32-year-old has made noises about wanting to return to Europe when his deal expires this winter.
Wednesday’s game in Cologne, though, provided a timely reminder of his enduring technical quality; his curled strike on 26 minutes the kind of bolt-of-the-blue moment Swiss fans have long been accustomed to. It made him the first MLS player to score at a European Championship, and was all the more impressive on his first appearance in this tournament.
Switzerland hit back.
Xherdan Shaqiri capitalises on a loose pass from Anthony Ralston and finishes in sublime fashion.#Euro2024 | #SCOSUI
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 19, 2024
Shaqiri remains a talisman for his country. He has now scored in each of his last six major tournaments and has proven once again he is still capable of conjuring quality from nowhere. But how to incorporate him into the side remains something of an enigma.
In dispensing with a conventional striker in Kwadwo Duah and playing Shaqiri as a false nine, Switzerland lacked pace in central areas and allowed Scotland to press higher up the pitch. They struggled for coherence, their rhythm perhaps disrupted by the change in approach, with Shaqiri’s goal their first shot on target of the game.
This was the trade-off that coach Murat Yakin made. More individual quality, no doubt, but at the expense of the unit as a whole.
With Duah and Breel Embolo waiting in the wings, Yakin’s task is to find a role for Shaqiri without compromising the balance of his team.
Patrick Boyland
How unlucky can Tierney be?
You would need a heart of stone not to feel desperately sorry for Tierney after he suffered what looked like another long-term injury. While defending a one-v-one situation he went down in a heap, instantly yelling towards the bench after his leg appeared to jar in the turf.
Tierney was limited to 17 starts while on loan at Real Sociedad last season as two serious injuries kept him out. After suffering a late scare when he developed an abductor problem in April, he got back fit to secure his place at the Euros.
The Scotland camp was the thing that kept him going during the difficult times at Arsenal when he was not playing. He has carved a unique role as a left centre-back, dovetailing with Andy Robertson, so for Scotland to lose him is a major blow.
Scott McKenna did well when he came on, taking a good cynical yellow to deny a counter and stepping up well to rule a late Switzerland goal offside, but he has big shoes to fill.
Jordan Campbell
What did Steve Clarke say?
“We didn’t turn up in the first game. We’re a good team when we play. You have to put the first game off as a really bad night. Tonight we were determined to make sure we went pressing, after the ball and higher up the pitch. It was against a very good Switzerland side, I have to say.
“The reality is we were looking at the second two games in the group and that’s how it’s turned out. Even if we’d played well against Germany, we’d have had to get something out of this game.
Advertisement
“This is the way we’ve been playing for the last three or four years. We knew what we had to do. It was a good team performance against good opponents and a good reaction to a disappointing night (against Germany). We’re still alive.
“It was a good game between two evenly matched sides. We now definitely need a win. I believe if we get three points, we go to the next stage.
“Kieran is definitely out of the next game (against Hungary), it looks like a bad one. Obviously we have to assess it but Kieran is out. You have to feel for him, he got into great shape and has done ever so well for us. But someone else will have to come in.”
What did Murat Yakin say?
“Scotland needed to bounce back. They were down in the dumps, their pride had been hurt. I spoke before with the team that we would expect pressure, that they’d shut down the space in the middle of the park. We could have won the match but they also created opportunities.
“Shaqiri proves tonight that he lives and breathes for moments such as these. It was an unbelievably clinical strike and it was the only thing he could do in that situation.
On the game against Germany: “Hope counts for very little in matches such as this. It’s all about the quality you can produce on the pitch. Germany have been playing spectacular football. We can’t wait to get out there and play. We don’t have our backs against the wall and it’ll be an interesting match, I have no doubt about that.”
What next for Scotland?
Sunday, June 23: Hungary (Stuttgart) 8pm BST, 3pm ET
What next for Switzerland?
Sunday, June 23: Germany (Frankfurt), 8pm BST, 3pm ET
Recommended reading
- ‘No Scotland, no party’ – watching the Euro 2024 opener on the Berlin fan mile
- Kwadwo Duah became Switzerland’s Euros comic-book hero… in just 60 minutes
- Euro 2024 and German efficiency: Forget everything you thought you knew
- The FIFA world rankings are not that important – and that’s a good thing
(Top photo: Shaqiri celebrates his brilliant goal. Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images))