John McGinn bemoaned an “embarrassing night” for Scotland after they were relegated to League B of the Nations League following a 3-0 home loss to Greece.
Scotland went into the second leg of the play-off with 1-0 lead from the first leg in Athens. However, Greece turned things around in comprehensive fashion at Hampden Park.
Giannis Konstantelias levelled the tie in the 20th minute before Konstantinos Karetsas bent in a second in the 42nd minute to become Greece’s youngest goalscorer at the age of 17.
Scotland conceded possession straight from the second-half restart and Club Brugge star Christos Tzolis took advantage by adding a close-range third, and Steve Clarke’s men never looked like mounting a comeback.
It left captain McGinn to assess a terrible result, and the skipper did not mince his words.
He told BBC Scotland: “We started pretty well, had a couple of chances, we just let ourselves down with the first goal we conceded. We’ve got to reflect now before two friendlies in the summer.
“It’s an embarrassing night for us, everyone is flat in the stadium, we let ourselves down.”
Remember the name Konstantinos Karetsas 😤
The 17-year-old puts Greece in front on aggregate ⚽️ #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/vsHb61Zj2v
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) March 23, 2025
Scotland will renew acquaintances with Greece in qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
They will face off again in October, having been drawn together in Group B of UEFA qualifying, which will also feature Belarus and, more worryingly for Scotland, the loser of the Nations League quarter-final between Denmark and Portugal. Denmark hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg.
Qualification for the expanded 48-team tournament would mark Scotland’s first appearance at the World Cup finals since 1998.
But McGinn knows they cannot afford to take anything for granted after Sunday’s emphatic defeat.
“No threat in behind, probably too easy to pick up,” he added of Scotland’s display.
“Greece deserved to win. That will maybe give us a kick up the backside for the World Cup qualifiers – we know they are no mugs.
“Tonight shows we need to be much better if we want to get to the World Cup.”
