Perhaps the fact that their opponents were also on foreign soil was a significant factor.
But for the first half at least, this was about as comfortable as a Scotland side has looked overseas for many a day.
The key is possession. The more of it a team is able to retain, the less pressure they will find themselves absorbing. Attack may not always be the best form of defence, but it is usually a better one than sitting deep and hoping to avoid puncture for ninety minutes.
Scotland, long one of Europe’s less aesthetic footballing nations, have at last alighted upon a squad which is filled with players who are calm and skilled with the ball at their feet – enough of them in the forward, midfield and full-back areas to provide lengthy periods where their opponents must worry about them rather than the other way around.
It was only when the Scots grew close enough to taste the rewards on offer that they reverted to type, indulging in a backs-to-the-wall second half that cut things finer than they needed to be. That, for a nation grown unused to tournament success and whose most famed results have been won with sleeves rolled up, can be forgiven as inexperience.
To all of you who travelled, watched or listened tonight – thank you 🙌#UKRSCO pic.twitter.com/pIXds2lIRi
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) September 27, 2022
But in the end, they gained the point they required for an excellent group triumph, and it may have earned them easier nights ahead. The playoff guarantee was in truth a side issue – the runners-up will almost certainly be there too – for it is seeding position where the big prize lies.
This draw means Scotland will avoid England, France and the Czech Republic in Euro 2024 qualifying, instead receiving a pot three country such as Armenia, Albania or Montenegro. Yesterday’s could, a couple of years from now, be viewed as a seminal result.
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