'Scotland stunned, sickened, suckered and out of Euros'

At nan end, Steve Clarke stood astatine nan separator of his method area for an age, for illustration a man surveying a wreckage, which successful a measurement it was.

Angus Gunn was level connected his backmost successful his ain box. Jack Hendry was connected his knees adjacent nan halfway line. Others were bent complete pinch hands connected knees aliases caput successful hands.

A fewer conscionable stood there, motionless. Stunned, sickened, suckered and retired of Euro 2024.

The footballing Gods person had their nosy pinch Scotland again. This twisted crippled of theirs ne'er gets old, does it. Never.

We were deeper than heavy into added clip erstwhile nan nightmare hit.

Scotland’s desperation was acute. They were playing pinch what felt for illustration 10 strikers astatine nan time. Gunn had to beryllium told to retreat astatine 1 constituent aliases other their style would person been akin to a 0-0-11.

They had a immense punishment outcry waved distant not agelong earlier erstwhile Stuart Armstrong was taken retired successful nan box.

Clarke was livid successful nan aftermath, but immoderate of his comments astir nan Argentinian referee, Facundo Tello, were cringe-making. Bringing nationality into it was unwise.

The VAR charismatic was Spanish, but location was nary condemnatory connection astir Alejandro Hernandez from Clarke. It was each beautiful grisly.

Scotland needed that break because their wide play was inaccurate and unthreatening. Same old, old.

We reached nan 97th infinitesimal and astatine past they had a changeable connected target, though moreover it was questionable fixed location whitethorn person been an offside successful nan preamble.

Grant Hanley had that chance, a close-range curler that was slapped distant by Peter Gulacsi successful nan Hungary goal.

The loose shot collapsed to Callum McGregor, and only an heroic artifact denied him a ace from adjacent distance.

Would nan emblem person gone up had nan shot deed nan net? Possibly. And you cognize nan rest.

A precocious footwear to nan star plexus. In Scotland's monumental pursuit of a spot successful nan knockouts of a awesome tournament, nan result is ever nan same.

The only point that changes is nan twelvemonth and nan metropolis successful which nan scary show unfolds.

Hungary counter-attacked. Of people they did. Scotland were short connected numbers. Of people they were.

A squad that spent overmuch of nan nighttime failing to put together overmuch successful nan measurement of coherent attacking play abruptly turned into nan Mighty Magyars of 1950s fame.

They were ruthless. When nan shot fell to Kevin Csoboth, who had deed a station a fewer short minutes earlier, you closed your eyes and waited for nan Hungarian roars, which came pinch an ear-splitting intensity.

In that moment, moreover nan pathetic dream of 2 points being capable was ripped away.

The dream of a group of results unfolding successful different groups that would spot Clarke’s squad spell done pinch 2 draws, an astonishingly debased full of shots connected target and nary extremity scored straight by 1 of their ain players vanished successful nan Stuttgart night.

The truth is that Scotland had mountains of possession but not astir capable wit to do thing of statement pinch it.

Their XG astatine half-time - a stultifyingly dreary half it has to beryllium said - was 0.00. At full-time it had creeped up to 0.13.

Hungary’s was 1.02. Not precisely nan worldly of Puskas, but it was capable for them and excessively overmuch for Scotland.

They suffered nan distressing nonaccomplishment of striker Barnabas Varga 20 minutes from nan end. Varga was injured successful a collision and was instantly surrounded by players, past medics, past a protective screen, earlier being taken distant connected a stretcher.

It was a chilling infinitesimal and it roused his team-mates.

They created immoderate chances, they deed a post, they started to look somewhat amended than nan mundane batch we’d seen before. No wonderment they celebrated wildly astatine nan end.

Varga, you’d imagine, was uppermost successful their minds arsenic they whooped and hollered successful victory.

Sport’s contrasting fortunes were writ ample each complete nan pitch. Happy delirium astatine 1 extremity and full despair astatine nan other.

Later, we heard nan skirl of nan pipes successful nan Tartan Army. Beaten but unbowed. The bagpipes - specified a versatile instrument. Before kick-off they skirled successful exultation and astatine nan extremity they skirled successful lament.

There will beryllium dejection connected a wide standard aft this but location should beryllium dense doses of reality, too. The dream nan Scots brought from Cologne and that tie pinch Switzerland to Stuttgart for nan group denouement was vulnerable hope.

Everybody sounded optimistic, but it was bosom ruling head, which is wholly understandable.

It was belief based connected 90 minutes against Switzerland which was gutsy and a step-up from nan calamity of Germany, but it was still obscurity adjacent nan level we saw from this squad successful qualification.

Scotland came into this crippled pinch 1 triumph successful 11. They were a squad who did wonderfully to triumph an induce to nan large statement but mislaid their measurement en route.

Their stats successful position of shots connected target successful this tourney is embarrassing, nary different connection for it.

Hungary were nary awesome shakes. The Scotland of March-September past twelvemonth would astir apt person recovered a measurement of putting them away.

This predictable and plodding type couldn’t. And that’s a bitter truth they will regret for a very, very agelong time.