Scotland’s first major tournament appearance since 1998 ended in defeat following their 2-0 loss to the Czech Republic in their first Euro 2020 game.
Two goals from Patrik Schick – including a spectacular long-distance effort near the halfway line that passed Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall – gave the Czechs the victory at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
The two teams are in the same group as England, who beat Croatia with a 1-0 win at Wembley on Sunday.
Around 12,000 fans were at the stadium for the Group D game – a reduced capacity due to coronavirus restrictions.
Thousands of Scottish football fans sang the national anthem in the Glasgow Euro fan zone before the men’s team took part in their first major competition since the World Cup in France 23 years ago.
Schick gave the visitors the lead just before the break, but it was his second goal in the 52nd minute that will be remembered.
Schick’s effort came from around the halfway line and UEFA said it was the longest distance for a goal in tournament history at 49.7 meters, breaking the previous record for 38.6 meters of German Torsten Frings at Euro 2004.
Scotland had just lost the ball in their own half and Schick spotted Scottish goalkeeper Marshall out of his line and his looped and curled shot sank into the near post to give his team a lead of 2-0.
The Tartan Army did their best to lift their team and Stuart Armstrong saw a deflected effort looped over goaltender Tomas Vaclik before ending up on top of the net.
Lyndon Dykes approached Scotland but was twice turned down by Vaclik, before substitute James Forrest managed to find a way to clear his way with another chance for manager Steve Clarke’s side.
The Scottish supporters were disappointed, …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-06-14 14:36:00