Steve Clarke credited Scotland’s defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining within the prime tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn got here off the bench to attain the all-important purpose as Scotland took benefit of Petar Sucic’s sending-off to assert their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League marketing campaign.
The end result – coupled with Poland’s crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automated relegation to League B in the event that they win in Warsaw on Monday.
Whereas Clarke felt Scotland might have accomplished extra with the ball, he was impressed each with their off-the-ball work and with the impression of tremendous sub McGinn.
“My first ideas after I got here off the pitch had been that we might play higher,” Clarke stated.
“We may very well be extra medical after we get to the ultimate third of the pitch. The sending off modified the sport, however we had been due just a little break.
“It is a group of gamers that need to achieve success, need to do effectively for his or her nation.
“That’s one other clear sheet, two in a row. In case you don’t concede objectives, you at all times have an opportunity to win the sport.
“It was good to get John on the pitch and I believed his end was actually good as a result of it wasn’t straightforward. It was good to have the ability to take a look at the bench behind and know we had individuals who might come on and have an effect on the sport. It’s good after we get everyone match and obtainable.”
The victory was Scotland’s first in a aggressive match since September 2023, once they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
That they had gone 10 video games with out a aggressive victory since then, drawing 4 and dropping six, together with a return of only one level from three outings at Euro 2024.
