Scotland lost 2-1 in their second UEFA Nations League game against Portugal in Lisbon tonight. Even though Scotland took the lead and provided quality opposition during large spells of the game, Steve Clark’s men couldn’t withstand the Portuguese pressure in the final stages.
At the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon it was Scotland that stunned the home crowd early on. In the 7th minute the ball got whipped into the box and the alert Scott McTominay smashed the ball into the net with his head, leaving the Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa with no chance: 0-1. For McTominay it was his 11th goal for the national team.
After getting behind Portugal created several threats in front of the Scottish goal, but the Seleção failed to get the ball into the net. In the 30th minute Angus Gunn had to make his first big save of the game, a clip over the Scottish defence was headed on target by Diogo Jota and could be blocked by the Scottish goalie.
After half time Portugal built up the pressure once more. In the 52th minute a pullback by Rafael Leão found Bruno Fernandes, who got a powerful shot at goal that touched the finger tips of Gunn, but landed in the bottom right of the net: 1-1.
Portugal controlled much of the game after the equalizer, but it remained level until the final stages. Gunn made a number of quality saves, but had no answer to Cristiano Ronaldo’s tap in after another cross into the box. Ronaldo made his 901st career goal, the most of any professional football player in history. The late 2-1 robbed Scotland of a result in Lisbon.
The defeat means Scotland only won once in their last 14 games. On Thursday Scotland also lost their opening game in the Nations League against Poland with 2-3. After two Nations League games Scotland currently is bottom of the table with zero points, while Portugal tops the group with six points. Scotland will continue their Nations League campaign on 12 October, with a home game against Croatia.
