UEFA Under-21 Championship Qualifying
Scotland 1-2 Spain
Friday, 6 September 2024
Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh

Scorers

Scotland 1 (Mebude 62’)
Spain 2 (Huijsen 59’) (Mateo Joseph 69’)

Team News

With Scotland missing eight key players due to injuries and call-ups to the senior squad, seven uncapped players were included in the squad. 

There was a return to the national set up for Liverpool youngster Calvin Ramsay who started his first game for the Under-21s since March 2022, while Daniel Kelly and Dane Murray
made their debuts. 

As it Happened

Scot Gemmill's side put on an impressive performance in Gorgie, but the Young Scots narrowly fell short against an experienced and strong Spanish team.

There was no splitting the teams in the first 45 with Scotland limiting Spain’s chances. Playing in a similar style to their senior side who won EURO 2024 in the summer, Spain operated in a 4-2-4 formation forcing Scotland to defend a lot in the early stages, though Gemmill’s men did well to stifle the visitors.

There was also plenty of positive play in the early stages, largely thanks to the marauding runs from full-back Ramsay, who was eager to drive from the right flank towards the Spanish defence.

Leon King found himself in the thick of the action in the later stages of the half and a well-worked phase of play resulted in King finding himself at the edge of the box where he produced a curled effort directed to the back post, though it was well held by the Spanish goalkeeper.

Moments later he found himself involved in the other end, bravely getting in the way of a shot from Spain’s Pablo Torre which seemed destined for the bottom corner. Scotland did survive a scare in stoppage time of the first half, as a ball fizzed in from the left-hand side of the Scottish box and found striker Samuel Omorodion alone in the middle of the penalty area but his shot skewed well wide of Cieran Slicker’s left-hand post.

Both sides took a more attacking approach in the second half and it was Spain who took the lead just before the hour mark. After some tidy footwork from a short corner, the ball was eventually floated in at the back post and met by the head of defender Dean Huijsen.

Scotland replied almost instantly. Some intricate passing - combined with brave midfield battling - saw the ball break to Josh Mulligan on the edge of the box. He slipped through substitute Dire Mebude, who brushed off a last-ditch tackle to slide the ball beyond the Spanish goalkeeper.

The game had sprung into life, and it was now Spain’s turn to create an instant reply. They nearly succeeded, but Slicker’s strong hands palmed away an effort from Benat Turrientes.

Spain retook the lead in the 68th minute, this time from the opposite side. An overlapping run found the Spanish right back in the final third where he cut the ball across box to meet the run of Mateo Joseph who made no mistake from 10 yards out.

Scotland did well to keep their composure, and after a hectic 10-minute period, the home side continued to build out from the back while regularly winning midfield duals.  Unfortunately, Slicker was the busier of the goalkeepers, pulling off another save from a long-range effort with five minutes left to keep Spain at bay.

As the game entered its final moments, Spain were happy to retain possession while adding defensive reinforcements. There was very nearly an unbelievable ending as, with 30 seconds left and a corner awarded to Scotland, Slicker made his way into the opposition box and rose highest to meet the in-swinging cross but it fell well wide of the goal.

Match Report by Alister Bean

Teams

Scotland: Slicker, Anderson, Murray, King (Watson 66’), Kelly, Mulligan (Apter
75’), Neilson, Cameron (Wilson 75’), Bowie (Mebude’56), Mullen, Ramsay (Milne
56’)

Subs: Budinauckas, Milne, Apter, Miller, Wales, Mebude, Watson, Wilson,
Thomson

Next Up

The Young Scots will now turn head to Malta to face Tuesday knowing that a win is required if they are to keep their hopes if qualifying for next year's finals in Slovakia alive.