Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay found the back of the net twice to help Scotland register a first win over Spain in 39 years.
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Spain’s stunning 2-0 loss to Scotland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers have left many in shock. The Spanish side, with their star-studded line-up and massive squad depth, were the favourites to get the victory. However, no one saw the reality coming. Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay found the back of the net twice to help Scotland register a first win over Spain in 39 years. After the match, Spain captain Rodri criticised Scotland’s approach to the game.
He was not happy with their opponent’s apparent time-wasting tactics and provocation. “We did many good things to win,” he said on Viaplay. “We conceded easy goals – this is football, if you concede easy goals you are penalised. It’s the way they play, but for me it’s rubbish, always wasting time, provoking you, always they fall. For me, this is not football. The referee has to take on this, but he says nothing.”
He added: “We will learn for the next time. We want to go for duels, for battles – we always fight, but this is not about fighting. It’s about wasting time – four, five players on the floor, but this depends on the referee, not on us. Today we did many good things, but what’s important is the goal, and we didn’t score.”
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Meanwhile, David Garcia, who was making his Spain debut, believed the length of the grass was also a reason in his country losing the match. “We already saw that the grass was too long, and that cost us. We can’t make excuses for that, we have to look at ourselves and fix what we did wrong today,” he told Marca.
Former Scotland striker Kris Boyd was not pleased with Rodri’s comments, as he hit back at Manchester City midfielder. “I hope Pep has some new dummies for Rodri when he gets back to Manchester City, because he spat them out last night, that’s for sure,” he told Sky Sports News. “It shows you how far Scotland have come under Steve Clarke because when top nations like Spain turn up and make excuses, like laying into the grass and the pitch and fouling.
“I think it was (Iago) Aspas last night where it was more like a wrestling challenge on (Ryan) Porteous as well. I get that they’re disappointed that they’ve lost the game, but Scotland were deserved winners. It wasn’t a fluke. If you go toe to toe with nations that have more or less invented that style of football, you’re going to get beaten. You need to find a way to overcome what they’re very good at.”
