(Football news) Two goals from Scott McTominay helped the Tartan Army surprise everyone by defeating Spain 2-0 at Hampden Park on matchday two earlier this year.
Following their four-game winning streak across two different competitions and the lifting of their first-ever UEFA Nations League trophy by Scotland, who defeated Spain in Glasgow, marking their first loss under new head coach Luis de la Fuente’s only two games in charge.
After defeating Italy 2-1 in the June Nations League semi-finals and defeating Croatia in the championship game via penalty shootout, they have gone on to win two decisive matches in the Euro 2024 qualifying round against Georgia and Cyprus.
In fact, Spain defeated Georgia 7-1 on the road last month behind a hat-trick from captain Alvaro Morata. Four days later, they defeated Cyprus 6-1 on the road to maintain their hopes of winning Group A.
With one game remaining, La Roja sits six points behind the Tartan Army in Group A. A victory on Thursday would put La Roja within three points of Scotland going into their final three qualification matches. De la Fuente’s team still has a lot of work to do if they hope to unseat Scotland from their top spot in the league.
Scotland is still in awe of their historic triumph over Spain seven months ago—it was their first over La Roja in 39 years—and they have since maintained their unbeaten record in Group A with victories over Norway, Georgia, and Cyprus.
The Tartan Army is on the verge of qualifying for their second consecutive European Championships after winning two straight games by an aggregate score of 5-0 against Georgia and Cyprus last month. Their victories came after a spectacular smash-and-grab 2-1 away victory over Norway in March, a game they were losing with just three minutes remaining.
FIFA has Scotland ranked 31st in the world. The team led by Steve Clarke has won eight of their last nine competitive games and is unbeaten. They only need to avoid losing to Spain on Thursday in order to guarantee a spot at the Euros in Germany the following year. Scotland also needs to finish with six points from their remaining three qualification matches in order to top Group A.
Spirits are understandably high in the Scotland camp right now, but they will be looking to recover from their 3-1 home loss to fierce rivals England last month in a friendly match as they attempt to win in Seville for the first time ever on Thursday.
In fact, the Tartan Army’s only victory in Spain was a memorable 6-2 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid back in 1963. The Tartan Army’s only other defeat in Spain came from a narrow 1-0 loss against Spain in a 1985 World Cup qualifier, both of which came against Brazil in the 1982 World Cup finals.
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