Jack Hendry believes Scotland restored pride with their 1-1 draw against Switzerland which kept their knockout stage hopes alive.
Steve Clarke’s side were thrashed 5-1 by Germany in their opening Group A game in Munich, but their response was heartening in a deserved draw against the Swiss in Cologne, where Scott McTominay’s deflected strike was cancelled out by a terrific Xherdan Shaqiri finish.
Germany have qualified with six points, with Switzerland on four, while the Scots need a win against pointless Hungary to join them in the knockout stage of a major competition for the first time.
In for recovery 💪#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/bz0NMvP31u
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2024
Defender Hendry, who plays his club football in Saudi Arabia for Al-Ettifaq, said: “It was an action-packed evening, a very emotional evening.
“We obviously felt we had to put in a performance and I think we did that.
“Obviously a massive contrast and hopefully we can continue this momentum.
“It felt good, we felt we gave a bit of justice in the performance and hopefully we made the county a bit more proud than they felt after the evening against Germany.
“There is a lot to look forward to now. Obviously it is in our hands and it is something to really relish.”
One negative to the night was the injury to Kieran Tierney, which will keep him out of the Hungary game.
Regular wing-backs Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey did not travel to Germany due to injury, with Anthony Ralston stepping in, and Ryan Porteous was banned for two matches after being sent off against Germany.
Hendry insists there will “no problem whatsoever” in adapting to another defensive line-up against Hungary.
The former Dundee, Celtic and Club Brugge player said: “We have a very strong squad and the defenders who have stepped in have done extremely well and I am sure that will be the case against Hungary.
“Obviously Kieran will be a miss. Hopefully it is not too bad.
“The squad gathered around him last night. It was not nice to see, but I am sure the physios will assess the extent of the injury. One of our strengths is our squad and I thought Scott (McKenna) came in last night and did extremely well, because it is not easy to come into a pressurised game like that in that stadium and do so well.
“So there are ready-made replacements if Kieran can’t make the game
“The squad is aware that have never got out of a group before so this squad is hungry to change that. The squad is determined to make history on Sunday against Hungary.”
Sunday’s opponents have added significance for Hendry.
He made his international debut as a Celtic player in a 1-0 friendly win over Hungary in Budapest in 2018.
Alex McLeish’s side contained the bulk of the Scotland side that played against Switzerland, including John McGinn, Andrew Robertson, Scott McKenna, Callum McGregor, Kenny McLean and Ryan Christie, while Stuart Armstrong and James Forrest are in Clarke’s squad.
Hendry, who won his 33rd cap against Switzerland, said: “Good memories. We won and it is always a special moment when you make your debut for your country.
“It was a memorable night for me and my family, extremely proud and I am relishing the chance to play against them on Sunday and the same result will be fine.
“For me it was just the start. At that point I was just taking it in as much as possible and once that game had finished, the sheer excitement and buzz of representing your country, it was about seeing how many I could do.
“Fortunately enough I have been able to represent my country many times after that and hopefully there will be many more.
“It is for me now to help the squad as much as possible to see how far we can go and hopefully that will be a memorable night against Hungary.”
