UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifier

Cyprus 0-3 Scotland  

Friday, 8 September 2023

AEK Arena, Larnaca

 

Scorers

Cyprus 0

Scotland 3 (Scott McTominay 6’, Ryan Porteous 16’, John McGinn 30’)

 

Team News

Elliot Anderson and Liam Kelly both withdrew from the squad due to injury, with Robby McCrorie drafted in ahead of the squad’s flight to Cyprus.

Kieren Tierney’s  start on the night earned him his 40th Scotland cap. Ryan Christie also won his 40th cap when he came off the bench late in the game.

 

As It Happened

In the Cyprus heat, the thousands-strong Tartan Army belted out Flower of Scotland to get the game underway.

The raucous rendition of the anthem was a pre-cursor for what was to come, as Scotland took an early lead thanks to a Scott McTominay goal with only six minutes on the clock. A Scotland throw-in led to Andy Robertson crossing the ball into the box, where the ball skimmed the top of John McGinn’s head before falling to McTominay at the back-post area, where he arrived to finish and give Scotland the lead; it was the midfielder’s 6th goal in 5 games.

Scotland doubled their lead in the 16th minute when Ryan Porteous added his name to the score sheet. Andy Robertson played a free kick into the box which was headed down by Jack Hendry and fell to the feet of Ryan Porteous. The defender reacted quickly to control and slot the ball into the net to score his first goal for his country.

Scotland’s third goal came in the 30th minute when Scott McTominay got away from his marker and played a low ball to John McGinn on the edge of the box. Super John McGinn then did what he does best and fired a shot into the back of the net from 18 yards out, leaving the Cyprus goalkeeper, Mall, stuck to his spot.

Both goalkeepers were tested in the second half, forced into making saves to deny the chances that came their way.

As the clock ticked down towards the final whistle, Cyprus raced through on goaland appeared to have a shooting opportunity to pull one back. However, Ryan Porteous tracked back excellently to block the effort and preserve a fourth clean sheet in five games for this campaign.

A controlled and clinical performance ensured that Scotland’s 100% record continues with five wins out of five in Group A, remaining top of the table.

 

Next Up

Scotland are next in action on Tuesday, 12 September, when England are the visitors to Hampden Park for a special 150th Anniversary Heritage Match.

 

Teams

Cyprus: Mall, Karo, Charalampous (Kakoulli 84’), Correia, Kyriakou (Gogic 80’), Sotiriou (Pittas 46’), Kousoulos (Ioannou 46’), Roberge, Antoniou (Andreou 80’), Laifis, Kastanos

Unused Substitutes: Panayi, Demetriou, Antoniades, Pileas, Christofi, Loizou, Tzionis

Scotland: Gunn, Hickey (Patterson 84’), Robertson, McTominay (Christie 90’), Tierney, McGinn (Armstrong 84’), McGregor, Adams (Dykes 67’), Hendry, Gilmour (McLean 67’), Porteous

Unused Substitutes: McCrorie, Clark, Souttar, McKenna, Ferguson, Nisbet, Jack