Steve Clarke sees plenty of positives for Scotland despite another late defeat

Scotland manager Steve Clarke urged his players not to be hard on themselves after suffering another late blow.

Half-time substitute Cristiano Ronaldo netted from close range in the 88th minute to earn Portugal a 2-1 victory in Lisbon in group A1 of the UEFA Nations League.

It was a familiar feeling for the Scotland players after conceding stoppage-time winners in their previous two matches, against Hungary in the Euro 2024 group stage and then Poland at Hampden on Thursday.

But, unlike the must-win game against Hungary, Scotland fans will come out of these Nations League matches with the feeling that their side have clearly been effective as an attacking force.

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Scotland started on the front foot and Scott McTominay headed a seventh-minute opener before Bruno Fernandes swept home from 20 yards in the second half as the home side finally made some sustained pressure count.

But the equaliser prompted Scotland to get the ball down and play and they caused problems before the tide turned in the final 15 minutes.

Clarke has employed a 4-2-3-1 formation in both Nations League games following criticism of his decision to stick with three centre-backs after losing Kieran Tierney to an injury midway through the Euro 2024 campaign, one which also kept him out over the past week.

Clarke said: “It looked for a long period of time that we would get something from the game. I’m really disappointed for my players. The effort and the quality they put into the game, they deserved to get something from it.

“I reiterated to the players that they have to understand what part of the cycle we are in, what we’re trying to do.

“We’re trying to readjust a little bit after the summer. we can use these matches to try to build and make sure the end goal, as always, is qualification for a tournament for a country like Scotland.

“It would have been nice to get some points and not to concede late goals. But this is the level that we’re at because we have been a good team and we’ve managed to get to the top level of the Nations League. The players understand how difficult it is to get results at this level.”

When asked if the way the players had adapted to the formation and been able to get forward had been a positive, Clarke said: “I think a lot of positives if you can ignore the results, but we’re professionals, so it’s disappointing to come out of two games where I feel that we played very well and don’t don’t have anything to show for it.

“Like I said, it’s a level where the the lessons are harsh. But it’s important and I spoke to the players in the dressing room, not to be too hard on themselves.

“We decided to change the system for these two matches and I think you see that the players have done good work. That’s why I’m so disappointed for them because they put so much into these games.”

Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez praised the attitude of his players after substitutes Nuno Mendes and Ronaldo combined for the winner.

“We had a difficult match – it was quite a challenge,” Martinez said. “Scotland are physical, strong, they attack very fast.

“We have shown the dressing room has a group of more than 11 players who are prepared to help the squad and who give everything to the end.”