Scotland 3-0 Cyprus: John McGinn and Scott McTominay ensure Scots get off to winning start in Euro 2024 qualifying
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Updated 25/03/2023 at 17:00 GMT
Three well-worked goals that were finished off by first John McGinn and then Scott McTominay twice late on saw Scotland get off to a winning start to their Euro 2024 qualification campaign, beating Cyprus 3-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday afternoon. Scotland are looking to make back-to-back European Championships having qualified for 2020 after missing five straight tournaments.
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MARCH 25: Scotland's Scott McTominay celebrates after scoring to make it 3-0 during a UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifier between Scotland and Cyprus at Hampden Park, on March 25, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Gett
Image credit: Getty Images
Scotland got their bid to reach Euro 2024 off to a strong start as John McGinn’s 16th international goal and a late Scott McTominay brace sealed a 3-0 victory over Cyprus at Hampden Park.
The prolific McGinn struck after 21 minutes, tucking home a cross at the back post to move alone in seventh place in his country’s all-time scoring charts, above James McFadden.
Steve Clarke’s men were left frustrated in their search for a second against a compact Cypriot defence, leading to a nervy finish until substitute McTominay struck twice in the space of six minutes at the death to calm any nerves.
Nikolas Ioannou saw a late red card for Cyprus to compound their misery when he picked up a second booking for kicking the ball away in frustration.
The result saw the Scots end a 17-year wait for an opening-day victory in a qualification campaign, sending them into Tuesday’s much tougher test at home to Spain in confident mood.
Scotland head coach Clarke, who signed a new contract to 2026 earlier in the week, led his side to Nations League promotion last year and a guaranteed Euro 2024 play-off spot.
But the Tartan Army are eyeing automatic qualification from a tricky group that also features Georgia, Spain and Norway, and they started a must-win game aggressively as McGinn and Aaron Hickey missed early chances.
The breakthrough arrived when a deflected cross from lively captain Andy Robertson fell into McGinn’s path at the back post for a tap-in.
At the other end of the pitch, former England-Under 21 goalkeeper Angus Gunn’s Scotland debut was largely as a spectator as the hosts dominated possession and pushed for a second before the break as a Che Adams shot was tipped over.
The Southampton striker limped off in the second half, sparking worries ahead of the Spain clash, but Scotland’s substitutes made the difference late on just as nerves were starting to creep in.
Three replacements combined for the second goal when Ryan Christie won the ball and swung in a cross which Lyndon Dykes cushioned into the path of McTominay, who controlled the ball with his right thigh before smashing in a shot with his left foot.
The Manchester United man, who had previously scored just once in 36 caps, then doubled his tally with a calm finish into the bottom corner in injury time, before Cyprus’ night got worse with Ioannou’s late expulsion.
TALKING POINT – ONE TALISMAN OVERTAKES ANOTHER
McGinn’s prolific scoring rate under Clarke has been extraordinary – as a glance at the updated all-time scoring charts shows.
The Villa man is now up to 16 goals for his country, overtaking McFadden to go clear in seventh place. 'Faddy' was often described as a talisman for the national team during his playing days, and McGinn has become a modern-day equivalent.
McGinn has some huge Scottish football figures in his sights now, too – Kenny Miller is next with 18 goals, while Ally McCoist’s tally of 19 Scotland goals is also well within reach.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH – JOHN MCGINN
New campaign, same McGinn. The Aston Villa man takes his game to different levels when he pulls on a Scotland shirt, and his extraordinary scoring record continued as he made the decisive breakthrough midway through the first half.
PLAYER RATINGS
Scotland: Gunn 6, Hickey 7, Porteous 7, Hanley 7, Tierney 7, Robertson 7, Armstrong 7, Jack 6, McGregor 6, McGinn 8, Adams 6
Subs: Dykes 7, Christie 7, McTominay 9, Patterson 6
Cyprus: Dimitriou 6, Antoniou 6, Kousoulos 6, Gogic 7, Roberge 6, Ioannou 4, Kyriakou 6, Laifis 6, Artymatas 6, Kastanos 7, Pittas 5
Subs: Loizou 6, Spoljaric 6, Kakoulis 7, Charalampous 6, Tzionis 6
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
21’ GOAL! MCGINN PUTS SCOTLAND AHEAD!
That man again! McGinn is lethal in a Scotland shirt and he does it again, tucking in a volley at the back post from a deflected Robertson cross.
88’ GOAL! MCTOMINAY SEALS THE WIN FOR SCOTLAND
You can hear Hampden sigh with relief! Christie whips a cross in from the byline and Dykes lays a header off into the path of McTominay, who controls it on his thigh before smashing a left-footed finish into the roof of the net!
94’ GOAL! MCTOMINAY AGAIN
Cyprus are caught out as a ball into the box is cleared only as far as Robertson, who squares a pass to McTominay and the midfielder finishes calmly into the bottom corner. What an impact from the Manchester United man!
95’ IOANNOU SENT OFF
Oh dear, this has really fallen apart for Cyprus now. Ioannou was already booked, and he boots the ball away to earn a second yellow card out of pure frustration.
KEY STATS
- John McGinn has been directly involved in 22 goals for Scotland while playing under Steve Clarke (16 goals and six assists); more than twice as many as any other player in this period (10, Lyndon Dykes).
- Scott McTominay is just the fifth player to score a brace for Scotland after coming on as a substitute, after David Hopkin (1997), Billy Dodds (1998), Chris Burke (2006) and Lyndon Dykes (2022).
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