Scotland ended their 23-year wait to play in a men’s major tournament after beating Serbia on penalties in Belgrade and sealing their spot at Euro 2020.
David Marshall was the hero for Scotland, who have not featured at a men’s World Cup or European Championship since 1998, when he saved brilliantly from Aleksandar Mitrovic to secure a 5-4 shootout victory.
Ryan Christie’s 52nd-minute strike appeared to have sent Steve Clarke’s impressive side through until Serbia scored with their first effort on target in the 90th minute through Luka Jovic’s header. Scotland are now nine games unbeaten – their best run in 44 years – and will face England, Croatia and the Czech Republic in Group D at next summer’s delayed finals.
An emotional Andy Robertson paid tribute to the character of the Scotland team as they recovered from the last-minute body blow to pick themselves up. He told Sky Sports: “It just shows you the strengths we’ve got. A lot of people would have crumbled and lost in extra time but we’ve stuck together throughout the whole process and now we’ve got the night we deserve.
“I can’t wait for the summer now. This is the most emotional I’ve ever been after the game. I’m so proud of all of them,” the Scotland captain added. “We’ve got two games at Hampden lying ahead next summer. I will say every prayer I have to make sure we have a full Hampden because, my god, we will feel it.
Quick Guide
Euro 2020 draw
Group A Turkey, Italy, Wales, Switzerland
Group B Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Russia
Group C Netherlands, Ukraine, Austria, N Macedonia
Group D England, Croatia, Scotland, Czech Rep
Group E Spain, Sweden, Poland, Slovakia
Group F Hungary, Portugal, France, Germany
Provisional fixtures and venues can be viewed here.
“We felt the love from back home all the way over here tonight, we knew how it could give everyone back home a lift. I hope everyone parties at home because we’ve been through tough times as footballers and ans for Scotland. It will be 23 years when we get there but we’ve done it now.”
Clarke added: “It’s a magnificent night for everybody in Scotland. We said we’d try to put a smile back on their faces and I hope they enjoyed the moment as much as we did in Belgrade. Yeah, they can smile tomorrow.”