Grant Hanley was Scotland’s main man in their 1-1 draw against Switzerland as he expertly filled in for the suspended Ryan Porteous.
The 32-year-old was brought back into the starting XI on Wednesday night for the Group A clash with Watford defender Porteous unavailable due to a suspension for his red card against Germany in the first match.
And he proved to be a rock at the back as Steve Clarke saw a positive reaction from the 5-1 mauling the host nation inflicted on them.
It kept Scotland’s dreams of qualifying for the knockout stage of the European Championship alive with Scott McTominay‘s goal earning them a share of the spoils.
In what is their fourth Euros, Scotland have been eliminated at the group stage on every occasion.
Germany beat Hungary 2-0 earlier in the day and are on six points, Switzerland are on four. Scotland have one point ahead of the final game against bottom side Hungary on Sunday and victory would likely see them advance into the last 16.
Live from Germany talkSPORT’s Adrian Durham has given his player ratings on the starting XI.
And the scores are notably higher compared to their first game as he declared Scotland were ‘much better’.
‘A leader of men’
Slotting in the heart of Scotland’s back five, it was Hanley who marshalled the defence to reduce Switzerland to scraps for the majority of the game.
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He certainly didn’t look like a player that only appeared in eight Championship matched in the 2023/24 season.
And he was unlucky not to score the winner after his header in the 65th minute cannoned off the post.
Awarding Hanley a mighty 9/10, Durham said: “Hanley, how did Steve Clarke think it was a good idea to leave him out last Friday
“May not have any silky skills, but he’s a leader of men, aggressive in both boxes.”
‘Didn’t get involved’
Aston Villa captain John McGinn may be the name on the lips of Every Scotland fan in Germany, but he struggled to assert himself against Switzerland.
And he was often a passenger at times, the opposite of Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour – rated 7/10 – who was always looking for the ball.
While the ex-Chelsea starlet ‘proved why he should’ve started against Germany’, McGinn may left feeling disappointed by his lack of involvement.
Given a 5/10, Durham stated: “Didn’t get involved in the game anywhere near enough.”
But that rating is still five times better than what he managed in the 5-1 defeat against the host nation last Friday night.
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‘Stepped up’
Manchester United midfielder McTominay was Scotland’s main man during their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign – scoring seven goals.
And he finally showed his qualities at Euro 2024, where he finished off a swift counter-attack, albeit through a fortuitous deflection off Newcastle’s Fabian Schar.
Clarke will be hoping for more of his late bursts into the box if Scotland are to have any chance of progressing into the knockouts and the man himself wrote on his social media channels: “All or nothing on Sunday,” with all his focus now on Hungary.
Rated as an 8/10, Durham remarked: “Credited with the goal.
“Nearly scored with a second half volley, stepped up in this game.”
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Sunday focus
“We’ll take the draw and we’ve taken it into the last game, that’s all we can ask,” captain Andy Robertson said afterwards.
“It was about getting back to us and it was more like us. We have left everything out there today and that is what it takes to play for your country.
“We can take a lot of positives but we can also improve even more. That’s a good thing.”
Clarke, meanwhile, spoke about how pleased he was with the display.
“This is the way we have been playing as a team for the last three or four years. It is why we are here at a major tournament.
“I thought it was a good team performance against a good opponent.
“It was a good reaction to a disappointing night and we are still alive in the tournament.
“Sometimes as a player or manager it doesn’t go your way and it certainly didn’t go our way on Friday night.
“Tonight was about getting back to what we are good at, working hard, making sure we got the preparation right, and I think we did.
“[The players] are going to feel a lot better going into the next game on the back of that kind of performance. We showed that as well as the aggression and fight and that dirty side of the game if you like, we can play.
“When we get the ball down we play, we created some chances, Switzerland created some chances. We did what we had to do and are still in the competition.”
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