Sport: Forrest hat-trick gives Scotland win over Israel and Euro play-off place
● Euro play-off spot secured but win over Israel has nailbiting finale
Scotland manager Alex Mcleish praised the resilience and intensity of his players as they emerged triumphant from a thrilling and dramatic Nations League finale at Hampden to guarantee a place in the Euro 2020 play-offs.
James Forrest scored a magnificent hat-trick as the Scots recovered from falling behind to a Beram Kayal strike for Israel. Mcleish’s side had to endure a nerve-shredding ending to the contest as Eran Zahavi cut the arrears for the visitors in the closing stages before Allan Mcgregor’s stunning stoppage time save denied them an equaliser.
The 3-2 win saw Scotland top Group C1, earning a place among the third pot of seeds in the draw for the main qualifying path for the Euro 2020 which takes place in dublin on 2 December.
If they do not qualify through that route, then as the highest ranked of the four Nations League C group winners, they will have a home tie in the oneoff semi-final of the play-offs in March 2020, currently likely to be against Finland. Norway and Serbia were the other League C group winners.
“Tonight I was quite calm,” insisted Mcleish, despite the rollercoaster nature of the match. “I felt really strong about the team going into this game after the way they played to a high intensity in beating Albania on Saturday.
“We played it extremely professionally and to keep that
high intensity tonight was a wee bit of a task. You saw some of them flagging because Israel had a couple more days rest than us.
“I’m so proud of the guys and we answered a lot of questions. It feels perfect to me because the goal was to win the game and we did that. We’ll look at the video and look to improve but the lads played to a fantastic intensity.”
Mcleish hailed the contribution of Celtic winger Forrest, who followed up his first two goals for his country in the 4-0 win in Albania with last night’s double, and Rangers goalkeeper Mcgregor.
“James’ goals over the two
games are amazing,” said Mcleish.
“I complimented him after Saturday and tonight his finishing was unerring.
“To see them nestling just inside the post was fantastic.
Any striker would be proud of that. He is in phenomenal form.
“Greegsy’s save was a fantastic, world class save at that
time in the game. He’s done that all season.”
Mcleish had come under fierce scrutiny during his second spell in charge of Scotland and savoured finishing 2018 on a high note.
“I’ve got to put it in perspective,” he said. “I was down after we lost the game to Israel in Haifa last month. But I’m always very conscientious because I always want to do better.
“Criticism is fine, because it wants to make you do better. Sometimes it can be over the top. But we bounced back and showed resilience.
“There is more to come from this team. Now they have evidence of what they have done over the last two games.
“It’s given us a massive feeling of power and self satisfaction. We were written off and we’ve come through it against adversity. That’s a great part of your character when you can do that. “You don’t get a chance to rest on your laurels. You have to try to keep improving. It’s great to get the light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the play-offs for Euro 2020 and the catalyst for it was the performance in Albania. The players should be looking to be stronger mentally after those kind of performances.”
A hugely uplifting evening at Hampden, lit up by James Forrest’s exhilarating hat-trick, resulted in an outcome that was quintessentially Scottish.
In exhibiting gumption and grand ambition, the national team’s ascent to the summit of their Nations League section marked the first time since 1981 that Scotland have finished top of a group. The twist is that it is the first group they have contested that doesn’t actually qualify them for a major tournament.
There might be a whole load of hotch, and copious dollops of potch, about this inaugural Nations League.
But the tension, drama and sheer chomp-bits-of-yourbottom-lip-off through fear of a late collapse proved that the new competition does not serve up “glorified friendlies”.
What it does offer is validation for Alex Mcleish. This was the third competitive win in four outings of his short but sometimes brutish second spell in charge of the national team.
The bottom line is that Mcleish and his men have reached the Euro 2020 playoffs and ensured Scotland will now go into the standard qualifying campaign next year knowing that, whatever unfolds, it cannot end their prospects of reaching a major finals for the first time since 1998. It can be set apart from the ten they have participated in since reaching the World Cup finals, in France.
The psychological benefits provided by the safety net that follows success in Nations League C Group 1, should not be underestimated, then. Should Scotland fail to claim one of the top two berths in the group that will be drawn in Dublin on 2 December, they will still remain only two games away from ending their seemingly permanent exile from major tournaments.
If they require to access the Nations League play-off route, the probability is that their semi-final will be a home game against Finland. That would be dependent on the Finns also not succeeding through the old-fashioned Euros qualifying route.
That home advantage, allied to the assurance of being a pot three side in the standard Euro 2020 draw, were two more prizes claimed with last night’s 3-2 victory over Israel, alongside the more obvious play-off reward.
Stick with the complex scenario, if you will, but in the event of Scotland playing and beating Finland in that March 2020 play-off, they would then face a play-off final against either Serbia or Norway.
The usual provisos apply to these two countries actual having to pick up the Nations League route then, of course…
The venue for that one-off final to decide the team that claims a place in Euro 2020 finals via the National League C level will be decided by a simple draw. What that could mean is that Scotland could have two games at Hampden to seize themselves the chance to play games in a major finals at, wait for it… Hampden.
It has been described as unthinkable that Hampden could be one of the host locations for an international tournament and Scotland not be involved. Nothing, though, is either thinkable or unthinkable when it comes to the tortured recent history of the international team.
Had you said a Celtic player would rattle in five goals in two games to see Scotland through to the Nations League play-off, not one solitary soul would have thought that player could be Forrest, his technique both in netting a dou-
“Scotland have finished top of a group. The twist is that it is the first group they have contested that doesn’t actually qualify them for a major tournament”
ble in the 4-0 Albania win on Saturday night and with his triple last night stupendous.
The winger had not found the net in his previous 24 Scotland appearances.
Moreover, it would have seemed preposterous to suggest that such a night to savour for the national team – and it was that, with all its undulations, all the ding-dong slugging that the home side and Israel traded – could be played out in a Hampden that wasn’t even half full. Scotland supporters have been beaten down by hard luck stories or last gasp vanquishing of hopes. The country’s followers ought to celebrate the Nations League group stages for bucking the conventions set in the other two such qualifying phases for major tournaments. Mcleish talked of his efforts being the start of something in Albania the other night. For once, that didn’t pre-empt a sorry end.