“The reality for Scotland is that their lack of quality has cost them dearly, especially in the forward positions.”
Immediately after a harrowing Euro exit, Scottish viewers could perhaps have done without an Englishman telling them where the painful late defeat to Hungary went wrong.
But when someone with 313 career goals, in this case Alan Shearer, is doing this kind of analysis, you might notice through gritted teeth.
In a must-win game, the country’s biggest in a generation, Scotland’s first shot on goal came seven minutes into second-half stoppage time – from defender Grant Hanley. He may even be offside.
That effort was just one of four shots on target that Steve Clarke’s side managed across three Euro 2024 games before going out with a whimper.
A controversial penalty decision may overshadow a dismal approach in a match of such magnitude, but the attacking numbers are overwhelming for the Scots – and they don’t stop there.
‘We don’t have a high-level difference maker’
In the three matches, Scotland took just 17 shots.
Since the Euro group stage was introduced in 1980, this is the lowest combined number for a nation – equaling Northern Ireland’s total in 2016.
Combined expected goals (xG) in the finals was 0.91. Miserable, miserable things.
Shearer, the Premier League’s all-time leading scorer, highlighted the Scots’ injury problems and a limited pool of attacking players.
“I don’t think it was for lack of effort,” he added on BBC One.
These points were echoed by former West Ham manager David Moyes, watching alongside Shearer and Scotland captain Rachel Corsie in the studio in Berlin.
But that will struggle to sustain a despondent Tartan Army, who saw their side score 17 goals in eight qualifiers to reach Germany.
“We were thrilled when we qualified,” Moyes said. “Steve [Clarke] did a good job getting us here and got us through the last few minutes [against Hungary].
“There’s no shame in that. But we don’t have top players to make a difference.”
‘Moment of unbelievable changes’
“But they made the difference in qualifying,” would be the likely response to Moyes’ point.
So is there more to it than simply not having a top-notch striker to choose from?
Clarke’s team entered the tournament on the back of a dismal run – one win in nine.
But aside from the March friendlies – a 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands and a 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland – goals have not been a major problem.
The Euro opener against Germany could probably be canceled. It’s safe to assume that even a Kylian Mbappe with a Scottish grandmother would have made little difference.
But there were valid questions about the lack of urgency and intent in that attack on Munich.
The Scottish team tried to allay those concerns with suggestions that the players were perhaps playing in fear.
A much better display in terms of effort and energy against Switzerland then gave hope that the collapse against Germany was just a blip.
However, a measured and pedestrian approach returned against Hungary, especially in a first half in which Scotland seemed to be slow to restart against a stubborn opponent who benefited from the game’s breaks.
There have only been two cases at Euro 2024 where a team failed to take a shot in the first half of a game. Both were Scotland.
Defenders Grant Hanley and Scott McKenna made the most contacts for Clarke’s team, while first-choice striker Che Adams had just one touch in the opposition box.
Throughout the tournament, the 27-year-old striker, who started all three games, only managed six in total.
Clarke’s side are at their best when they bring chaos to the occasion, but there was a lot of caution in Sunday’s must-win clash which made it difficult to press the button.
Even so, the required changes may have come too late.
“I just wish we had done it,” former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton told Sportsound.
“Looking at the players who came on and could make a difference, waiting until the 75th minute in a game of this magnitude to freshen things up is unbelievable.”
“No regrets” was the theme in the build-up to this finals from the Scottish camp. You can be sure they will leave Germany with many of them.
