We won’t be one-hit wonders
His Cooper pledges t side talented Scotland will gain qualification for another finals
The devastation was written all over Liam Cooper’s face at Hampden on Wednesday night.
But it wasn’t just the chastening experience against Ukraine that resulted in a desperate defeat.
There was also a fear in his eyes. A fear that this talented group of players might end up being remembered for just one tournament qualification.
Their Qatar 2022 World Cup dreams ended in midweek after a deserved 3-1 loss to the Ukrainians.
Somehow, Steve Clarke must now try to lift his squad for a Nations League campaign which starts against Armenia in three days’ time.
Recovering physically – and mentally – to prepare for that will be a challenge.
But this was the competition that made possible our long- overdue appearance at Euro 2020. And Cooper is determined to ensure that’s not the only major finals Clarke’s side reach.
The 2024 European Championships in Germany is the next target.
And the Leeds United captain, who replaced Kieran Tierney in Scotland’s back-three against Ukraine, is hell-bent on being there.
As he ref lected on the nightmare display at Hampden, which saw the Scots miss out on a play-off final today against Wales, Cooper said: “We came up short on Wednesday night and are gutted.
“We’re down and we’ve got a week until our next game.
“But we have to pick ourselves up. The manager has said to us, we don’t want to be one-hit wonders. We want to make major tournaments again.
“We failed against Ukraine and we’re devastated, as you can imagine. But we’ve got to go again.
“We’ve sat on it for a couple of days but we have to pick ourselves up.
“In football, games come fast. We’ve had a longer break before Armenia that we didn’t want because we wanted to be playing in the play-off final.
“That hasn’t happened but we need to go and make the next Euros and World Cup now.
“Maybe we can do it without having to go into big pressure games l ike
Wednesday night’s play-off. Let’s try to keep improving because we have an unbelievable squad here.
“We have to try and get out of our group and make qualif ication a bit more comfortable next time.
“But of course, we now need to focus on the Nations League because it can also get you to the Euros.
“We know how important it was last time when we got success.
“So we’ll prepare ourselves properly and go again. It’s a big game against Armenia next week.”
Scotland’s performance against Ukraine was reminiscent of their tournament displays at Euro 2020 – flop performances at home against Czech Republic and Croatia when expectations were so high.
That will be a worry for Clarke. Skipper
Andy Robertson admitted afterwards that they failed to turn up when it really mattered.
And given what they produced against Denmark back in November, it was hugely disappointing.
Of course, the circumstances surrounding the play-off semi-final were unique, with Ukraine’s emotional players fighting for a cause far more important than football.
But Cooper is refusing to accept that Scotland couldn’t handle the occasion.
The 30-year-old said: “We knew it was going to be a difficult game, they’ve got class players around the pitch.
“But after 20 minutes I thought we were well in the game. Losing the goal after half-time was a killer blow. We changed our shape and got the goal.
“At that point, we felt we could go on and nick an equaliser. But it wasn’t meant to be and we are bitterly disappointed.
“I don’t think emotion was a factor. We wanted to win.
“Of course there was a lot of emotion going into it, from both sides, but especially from Ukraine.
“We had to build our own emotions. We were bang up for the game and wanted to win.
“We wanted to send our fans home happy and keep the nation’s World Cup dream alive.
“But it wasn’t meant to be and we’re devastated.
“I’ve played in big games, I know how much this meant. It’s a bitter pill to swallow for everyone.
“It will take some getting over but we’ll pick ourselves up.
“We have a strong group and the lads
will rally round each other.” Cooper and Robertson were culpable for Ukraine’s opening goal as Andriy Yarmolenko beat the offside trap to score.
When Roman Yaremchuk made it 2- 0 just after half-time, it left Scotland with a mountain to climb.
Callum McGregor pulled one back and the defender felt they’d make it 2-2 – but it never materialised.
Cooper said: “It’s hard to put your finger on what went wrong.
“We were always in the game. We believe we can score goals so we stuck at the task.
“Not for a second did the boys roll over. We were in the ascendancy when we scored and pushed for the equaliser.
“But nothing would drop for us. On another night, we nick one and take the match to extra-time.”