Scotland captain Andy Robertson admitted tonight’s loss to Hungary which meant an early exit from Euro 2024 was “devastating” and will take a “long time to get over”.
Steve Clarke’s men knew only a win in Stuttgart would realistically be enough for them to advance as one of the four-best third-placed finishers but that never really looked likely to materialise due to a performance high on energy but woefully short on quality.
Scotland failed to muster a single shot on target and were ultimately undone by a goal from Kevin Csoboth in the 10th-minute of injury time that gave Hungary a 1-0 win and meant they finished third in Group A.
FULL TIME: Scotland 0-1 Hungary.
The referee brings the match to an end in Stuttgart following the away side’s late goal.#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/xjAKQrWxSj
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 23, 2024
Liverpool full-back Robertson told the BBC: “There’s nothing really to say to be honest. We gave it everything.
“We knew we had to win this game, and they’ve hit us on the counter-attack. It could have gone either way, but that’s football – that’s how it goes. It will take a long time to get over this one.
“We had a lot of possession, first half, without doing anything with it. We had to find that cutting edge and go for it a wee bit more. We did go for it, but we got sucker-punched. A draw wasn’t going to be enough realistically.
“Tonight and for a long time we have to get over this. It’s a tough one. It’s devastating. All the lads are absolutely gutted. I will say thank you to all the supporters; sorry for letting you all down.”
Goalkeeper Angus Gunn added: “It’s hard to speak to be honest. I thought everyone gave their best, the goal at the end was because everyone was going for it.
“The effort we gave today showed the fans and the country what it means to us. We created chances, we had opportunities [but] it didn’t fall for us, deflections didn’t go our way and we couldn’t score.
“At the end of the day we are out and nothing really matters any more.”
