The anxiety. The anticipation. The climax. The player shoots, and scores. The crowd cheer as the goal is scored. They bemoan as the goal is missed. Rinse and repeat. The story of football; the wins and losses, the goals and misses, the raw emotion of as the fans pour their hearts and souls into the home team, backing them until that bittersweet end. Scotland took on that rollercoaster in the 2024 Euros and the biggest takeaways are hope and community spirit.
A better performance from Scotland
I don’t like to talk about the Germany game. The 5-1 defeat was tragic. Of course, there was a silver lining on that dismal cloud for me as, having German family, I have a connection to the nation and was happy they did well. But the Scottish loss was devastating and our one goal, being a German own goal, merely rubbed salt into the wounds.
But, if your hopes were dashed, then you were in for a surprise! The 1-1 draw against Switzerland heralded an improved Scottish performance and the end result showed this. It may not have been a victory, but it certainly wasn’t a defeat. Whatever your views on this, I guess it comes down to whether you’re a glass half full or a glass half empty kind of person. The final game was heartbreaking, but not because of poor performance. Scotland did well, the players bent that pitch to their will. At one point, Scotland should have been awarded a penalty after Brazilian defender Willi Orban challenged Scottish midfielder Stuart Armstrong. Argentinian referee Facundo Tello failed to allow a penalty, frustratingly upheld by the VAR. As a result, Scotland missed out on a penalty. Could this penalty have led to a goal? Could it have drawn the game? We will never know. Both the referee and the VAR were removed by Uefa.
Nevertheless, Scotland certainly performed better than England – rather ironically given England’s ‘skin of the teeth’ victories. My sadness came from seeing Scotland performing well, but falling flat when it came to scoring. They couldn’t put that ball in the back of the net. Sadly, it was a game to be glass half empty with, as the 1-0 Hungary victory, which saw us leave the Euros.
That was a game so well executed that, from an unbiased and objective viewpoint, I believe should have been won by Scotland. Scotland should have won that game. They deserved to. They deserved to progress to the next stage.
Given Scotland’s terrible performances in the past, football is slowly entering our ballpark. Given more training, time and practice, I believe that Scotland will one day be up there in the semi-finals. But there is much work to be done and much building on the positives of our successes this time round.
Coming together for Scotland
The flags and songs. The food and drink. The great times with friends. Sitting round a pub table, watching the TV, laughing and joking and sharing in the excitement of victory and the pain of loss. Regardless of politics or local football team or anything else that can cause division, everyone unites with common purpose and cause. The Tartan Army standing together, across Scotland in vast numbers and visible for the whole world to see. Not just those in Scotland either but those expat Scots living beyond our borders, no matter where they are in the world, cheering on the national team. Scots united across the Earth: united in fun, united in joy and united in community spirit.
That, for me, is the best part of football. At the end of the day, whether our teams win or lose, it’s the memories we make together that matter. The atmosphere. The electricity. The intense feeling and emotion. Coming together to be part of an event. As with every Scotland game, victories might not be many, but backing our nation in friendly gamesmanship is an honour – one which will never die.
Scotland’s place in football is long overdue. Throughout my life, I’ve barely had the chance to support them in major, international tournaments. But things are shifting, the world is changing and in recent years I have been able to see Scotland on the pitch, amongst the greats, playing for our place in the football world. Each time I watch, the performance improves, the game gets better and my hopes increase.
But when all is said and done, football is only a game. From games with friends, to the Scottish Premier League, to the international tournaments. In one respect, it is only a game. However, in another, it acts as a needle, knitting together community and nation. For when Scotland plays, forget politics and all the rest of it, just eat and drink, laugh and cheer, sing and wave flags. For we all have a common goal. A common cause that is built on fun and excitement. A fun and excitement that unites us all.
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