Scott McTominay double stuns Spain

Scott McTominay’s brace gave Scotland a famous win over Spain and gave Steve Clarke’s team the perfect start to their EURO qualification campaign.

Action: Hampden Park was rocking after just seven minutes gone in the game when Scotland took an early lead. Pedro Porro slipped in a dangerous area, allowing Andy Robertson to pick the ball up near the byline and pull it back for Scott McTominay whose shot took a slight deflection off Iñigo Martínez past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

It was a dream start for Steve Clarke’s team who did have a little look in the 23rd minute when Joselu hit the bar with a header and then Robertson avoided a red card for a potential elbow on Porro. The Liverpool man was probably helped by Porro’s dramatic reaction that made him the pantomime villain for the home fans for the rest of the half.

It was a frantic game with Scotland having a great chance to add to their lead just before the break. In first-half stoppage time, a long ball by Robertson found Lyndon Dykes in behind the Spanish defence but the QPR man couldn’t convert the chance.

Luis De la Fuente, in just his second game in charge of Spain, made two changes at half-time with Nico Williams and Dani Carvajal both coming on.

Carvajal could do nothing about the pace of Kieran Tierney though when the full-back bombed forward and put in a cross that David García was able to get a touch to. The ball then found McTominay who took the shot on the run to make it 2-0 to Scotland with 51 minutes gone.

It could have been three had John McGinn’s freekick, which took Kepa by surprise, had been just an inch lower with the ball bouncing off the bar.

Scotland did well to disrupt Spain whenever they went on the attack with Nico Williams looking like the only player with the potential of causing serious issues but he was dealt with well.

Indeed, the final six minutes were nervous for the Tartan Army but they never looked like letting their lead slip.

Big Picture: Two games, two wins – it’s the perfect start to European qualification for Scotland who were deserved winners in the end. There’s still a long way to go but performances like this show just how much Scotland have improved.

Spain meanwhile did not look like the teams of previous years with a style of football that was unrecognisable. It may be a tough transition for Luis De la Fuente to oversee.

Man of the Match: Scott McTominay’s two goals give him the award with the Manchester United midfielder having added to his brace against Cyprus in the last game. In truth though, everyone in a Scotland shirt put in excellent performances.

xG: Scotland (0.89) 2-0 (0.59) Spain

FULL TIME: Scotland 2-0 Spain.

A HUGE performance from Steve Clarke's team 💪

Two goals from Scott McTominay either side of half time means it's two wins out of two to start our European Qualifying campaign!#SCOESP pic.twitter.com/EjIrrBR76R

— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) March 28, 2023