10 min: Marshall punts the ball downfield. Dykes flicks it on. Adams latches on to it and tries a curler from 25 yards. It bounces a yard wide of the post.
8 min: Well played Hanley. He kept pace with Perisic as the forward loped down the right wing, then he put his boot in and prodded the ball off the Croatia and out for a Scottish throw-in.
6 min: Dinky interplay down the left by Scotland. Then McGinn turns on to his right foot and clips a beautiful cross towards the back past. Adams darts away from the defender and tries to poke it into the net from five yards .... but just fails to connect with it! Agonised looks all around Hampden!
5 min: Croatia are trying to show they will not be dictated to. When they get the ball they pop it about at their leisure, trying to sap Scottish vim.
3 min: Scotland are hurtling around like billy-o, determined not to let Croatia settle. But Modric has already shown some ominous touches. “I’m watching the Scotland game here on Spanish TV,” reveals Paulo Biriani. “On a channel called Be Mad. Honestly, not making it up. Not sure what to read into that.”
2 min: The second corner is a tester. Livakovic rises to the challenge and punches it clear under pressure.
1 min: Robertson’s in-swinger is cleared at the near post, out for another corner.
1 min: Scotland win a corner after 21 seconds, eliciting a lusty cheer from the crowd...
1 min: Scotland-Croatia is go!
Well, Scotland won the song contest hands down. Now it’s time to play ...
Clickety-clack, clickety-clack .... here come the players ...
“I feel strangely calm tonight,” muses Simon McMahon. “Maybe it’s because, being of a certain vintage, I’ve seen it all before. Or it could be due to the fact that I’m heavily sedated. Whatever the reason, good luck to both teams. Ach, who am I kidding? COME ON SCOTLAND!!! LET’S BOOGIE!!!” That’s the spirit. And by the way, you haven’t seen it all before. Haven’t we mentioned that today could be HISTORIC?
A quarter-full stadium has never sounded louder, and there’s still over 20 minutes to go till kickoff. The Scottish players are sure to get an energy boost from the noise, and that could be critical, since Scotland’s ability to sustain a high tempo against an artful but somewhat ponderous side could be what takes them to glory ....
Explaining his team selection, he says: “After the performance of the players the other night they deserved a chance to go again. The only big decision I had was whether to leave Scott McTominay in defence or put him back again but it was quite an easy decision” As for the match, he says: “I think the start could be a bit cagey but I’ve been wrong before. The crowd have a big part to play tonight. We need them from the first minute to the last .. We’re ready to send everybody home with a smile on their faces tonight.”
Choose optimism. “Here are my pre-pub predictions in order of most to least likely,” announces James Humphries. “A. Scotland 0-2 Croatia, in roughly similar style to the Scotland-Czech game. B. Scotland 0-1 Croatia, with us hammering them all game and then conceding a gut-punch in the 80-somethingth minute. C. Scotland N-N Croatia, where N is any score. Bonus points if combined with the above, so that we’re ahead and then concede. D. Scotland 2-1 Croatia, and then the entire squad tests positive for Covid. I honestly don’t know which I’d prefer. Here’s hoping hopping from foot to foot for a couple hours.”
Speaking to ITV, the Aston Villa man says: “We know what we want: three points to make history. It’s not going to be easy, we’ve watched a lot of clips of Croatia in the last couple of games and they’re a good team despite some of the criticism they’ve had. [What we have to do is] Just play with the same belief and determination as the other day at Wembley. We played with bravery, commitment and quality. If we do that again, we’ve got every chance.”
“So both teams need a win and a draw is utterly useless to either,” notes Robin Hazlehurst. “Given Scotland’s record of glorious failure in such events, has there ever been a game in history that has been more obviously nailed on to be remembered for the words ‘Last Minute Equaliser’?” I can’t shake the feeling that this tournament has been building up to one godawful VAR outrage ...
There are 12,000 fans in Hampden Park and they’re already making a mighty din. And they’re not alone, many a reader of this here mbm is in the mood to boogie. Check out what Matt Shankly, for instance, is about to put on. And fetch to me a pint ‘o wine!
M. Shankly. W 🏴🇪🇺 (@MattShankly)
And an 80 year old Tam to add later pic.twitter.com/snUr5R2TZj
June 22, 2021
Before anyone writes in accusing me of making a typo, let me stress that today’s referee really is from Argentina. He’s the first South American to officiate and a European Championship match, and it’s all part of an exchange programme between Uefa and Conmebol.
Behold! As expected, Steve Clarke has made only one alteration to the side that started at Wembley, with Stuart Armstrong replacing the unfortunate Gilmour. Croatia have made four alterations to their lineup following the draw with the Czechs. They’ve decided the left-hand side needed work, so Juranović has come in at left-back while Vlašić will play in front of him. Petković will serve as a lone striker, and Brozovic returns to midfield.
Scotland: Marshall; McTominay, Hanley, Tierney; O’Donnell, Armstrong, McGinn, McGregor, Robertson; Adams, Dykes
Subs: Gordon, McLaughlin, Christie, Fleck, Gallagher, Cooper, Turnbull, Nisbet, Fraser, Patterson, Forrest, McKenna
Croatia: Livakovic; Juranovic, Lovren, Vida, Gvardiol; Kovacic, Brozovic; Perisic, Modric, Vlasic; Petkovic
Subs: Kalinic, Sluga, Vrsaljko, Barisic, Caleta-Car, Brekalo, Kramiric, BUdimir, Pasalic, Rebic, Badelj, Ivanusec
Referee: Fernando Rapallini (Argentina)
Given all the talk of history today, it would be remiss not to mention that in five previous attempts, Croatia have never managed to beat Scotland. There have been three draws between the nations. The other two meetings ended in wins for Scotland, and they both came in the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup ... for which Croatia qualified and Scotland didn’t. Come on, Scotland, let’s have no more of that sort of carry on.
Hello and welcome to what could be the greatest day in the history of Scotland. Yes, that’s about the size of it. Never before has the country made it to the knockout stages of a major tournament, not even in the days of Dennis Law, Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness or Stephen Glass. But today they could take that unprecedented step: all they have to do is beat the team that finished runners-up at the last World Cup. Oh, and they have to do it without Billy Gilmour, the outstanding performer in Friday’s 0-0 drubbing of England. The Covid-related loss of Gilmour has eroded a little of the optimism spawned by the display at Wembley but Scotland have home advantage and know they have the potential to get the win they need against Croatia if, that is, someone can actually put the ball in the net. Croatia need victory just as badly so this is going to be emotional, relentless and quite possibly historic. Let’s be having you!
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