Starting midfielder Billy Gilmour against Switzerland is a “necessity” for Scotland’s Euro 2024 hopes, insists Pat Nevin.
Brighton star Gilmour was left out of the starting line-up by boss Steve Clarke as the Scots crashed to a humiliating 5-1 loss to hosts Germany.
Capped 28 times by Scotland and now a pundit at Euro 2024, Nevin pinpoints the inability to retain possession as a key factor for the Scots’ mauling in Munich.
Former Chelsea winger Nevin reckons “technically phenomenal” Gilmour will bring composure and class against the Swiss on Wednesday.
Nevin, 60, said: “It is a necessity Gilmour starts against Switzerland.
“He is technically phenomenal.
“I thought the first two picks against Germany would be Callum McGregor and Gilmour.
“When you play at this level you must keep the ball.
“If you don’t it is a long time before you get it back and good technical teams will destroy you.
“Scotland never kept the ball against Germany and there was no out ball.
“Gilmour is the best out ball we have and if you give it to him with three people around, he will find a pass.
“If you are going to go through a press there are two ways.
“You either play through it which is hard and you can only do that with players that are technically gifted.
“The only other way to get though a press is to smash the long ball but not against a team like Germany.
“The game was gone against Germany long before the sending off (Ryan Porteous) and we cannot make excuses.
“We got away with one because the Germans did take their foot off the gas.”
Gilmour bossed game at Wembley
For proof of how Gilmour can influence a match in a major international tournament Nevin points to the clash with England at Euro 2020.
Scotland secured a 0-0 draw with eventual finalists England in a group game.
Gilmour, then with Chelsea, started against the English.
Nevin said: “You look at the game against England at Wembley and Gilmour and McGregor bossed it.
“It finished 0-0 but the way Gilmour played helped Scotland get a hold on the game.
“At Hampden (3-1 loss, friendly, September 2023) it didn’t work but look at the system Scotland played, it was two against three.
“It doesn’t matter how good you are if there are two against three at international level you are stuck.
“So we need to get bodies in there against the Swiss.
“We need the big guns playing, but it is hard to play well when you haven’t got the ball.
“So Scotland must get some control of the midfield.”
‘The dream turned into a nightmare’
It took just 10 minutes for Germany to kill the Tartan Army’s dream of a positive start to the Euros when they scored.
It went from bad to worse as the tournament hosts humiliated the Scots.
Nevin also suffered a damaging loss with Scotland as he came off the bench on the hour mark in a 5-0 World Cup qualifying loss away to Portugal in April 1993.
He said: “The dream turned into a nightmare quite quickly against Germany and there wasn’t anything that went well.
“I don’t think anyone will feel they played well.
“I have been there before and with Scotland it happens now and again.
“Remember the 6-0 loss to the Dutch and also the 5-0 loss to Portugal.
“Funnily enough I was on the train yesterday sitting next to Ally McCoist.
“I said to Coisty remember that loss in Portugal, it was called the day a team died.
“It was really painful.
“He said: ‘Painful for you? I broke my leg in that game’.”
Scots will not go into their shell
With the defeat to Germany, the Scots have won just once in their previous 10 games.
Nevin reckons Scotland may be down but they are far from out.
He expects the nation’s experienced campaigners to show their character against Switzerland.
He said: “If you can’t cope with that massive down and then lift yourself up you are absolutely in the wrong business.
“There is no player that doesn’t happen to and the good ones, you judge them by how they cope with that.
“Do I think McGinn, Robertson, Tierney or McTominay will go into their shell and worry it will happen again?
“Absolutely not.
“They go out with the mindset of ‘let’s get this right and sort it out’.
“In 850 games I never ever after a defeat thought ‘we are stuffed now.’
“I always thought we will get this right and I didn’t care who it was against.
“And I can promise those Scotland players will feel exactly the same way.”
Pat Nevin was talking to the Press and Journal on behalf of https://www.newbettingsites.uk
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