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Scotland at the UEFA European Championship

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The UEFA European Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA (the Union of European Football Associations). Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations' Cup, changing to the current name in 1968. Starting with the 1996 tournament, specific championships are often referred to in the form “Euro XXXX”. Prior to entering the tournament all teams other than the host nations (which qualify automatically) compete in a qualifying process.

Scotland have participated in four UEFA European Championship finals: the 1992, 1996, 2020 (played in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and 2024 editions. They have played twelve matches, winning two, drawing three and losing seven. They have scored seven goals and conceded seventeen, failing to advance past the group stage so far.

History

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1960s

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Scotland first participated in the European Championships in 1968, after not entering the first two tournaments. The 1966–67 and 1967–68 editions of the British Home Championship formed the results of their qualifying group, with Scotland finishing a point behind group winners England. Scotland's first qualifying match was a 1–1 draw in Cardiff against Wales on 22 October 1966, with Denis Law scoring an 86th-minute equaliser for the Scots. Scotland's first win came against Northern Ireland on 16 November 1966 at Hampden Park - they won 2–1. On 15 April 1967, Scotland became the first side to defeat England since their World Cup victory - a 3–2 win at Wembley gave Scotland the 1966–67 British Home Championship crown. Northern Ireland defeated Scotland 1–0 in Belfast on 21 October 1967, before a 3–2 victory against the Welsh on 22 November 1967. A 1–1 draw with England, on 24 February 1968, wasn't enough for Scotland to qualify from the group.

1970s

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Scotland were drawn alongside Belgium, Denmark and Portugal in the qualification phase of UEFA Euro 1972. Scotland won all their home matches, but lost all their away games to finish third in the group. A 1–0 defeat to Denmark in Copenhagen on 9 June 1971 saw Scotland eliminated from qualifying. Belgium won the group to progress to the play-offs.

UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying saw Scotland face Denmark, Romania and Spain. Scotland lost their opening match 2–1 to the Spaniards at Hampden, before drawing 1–1 in Valencia. Gordon McQueen scored a late equaliser to win Scotland a point away in Romania, before Joe Harper's goal saw Scotland beat Denmark 1–0 away from home. Scotland won the reverse fixture 3–1. Scotland's final match was at home to Romania, with Scotland requiring a two-goal win to win the group and qualify for the play-offs. Scotland took the lead through a Bruce Rioch goal, but Romania levelled the match with fifteen minutes to go to send Scotland out.

1980s

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Scotland's qualifying group for Euro 1980 featured Austria, Belgium, Norway and Portugal. Defeats against Austria and Portugal in their opening three matches removed any chance of qualification for Scotland, with two wins over Norway and a 4–1 victory over Portugal at Hampden being the only victories in a disappointing qualifying campaign for the Scots, who finished fourth.

Belgium, East Germany and Switzerland were Scotland's opponents in qualifying for UEFA Euro 1984. An opening game win over East Germany was the only victory of the campaign for the Scots, with home draws against Belgium and Switzerland being the only other points obtained in the campaign. Scotland lost all of their away matches to finish bottom of the group.

Scotland faced Belgium, Bulgaria, Luxembourg and the Republic of Ireland in qualifying for UEFA Euro 1988. Two 0–0 draws against Bulgaria and the Republic of Ireland was followed up with a 3–0 victory over minnows Luxembourg. Successive defeats against the Republic of Ireland (1–0) and Belgium (4–1) saw qualification fall out of reach, once again. Victories over Belgium (2–0) and Bulgaria (1–0) followed, before a disappointing 0–0 draw over Luxembourg, who obtained their first and only point of the campaign. The win against Bulgaria, who had only needed to draw the match to qualify, meant that Ireland qualified for their first major tournament.[1]

1990s

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Scotland played out a goalless draw against the Netherlands during Euro 1996 at Villa Park, Birmingham

Under the guidance of manager Andy Roxburgh, Scotland qualified for the UEFA European Championship for the first time in 1992.[2] Scotland were drawn into a qualifying group of Bulgaria, Romania, San Marino and Switzerland. A 1–0 defeat to Romania away from home left qualification dependent upon other results, but a 1–1 draw between Bulgaria and Romania in the final group match saw Scotland squeeze through as group winners by a single point.[3] Scotland were drawn into a very difficult group, facing defending champions the Netherlands, the CIS (the successor of the Soviet Union team defeated in the 1988 final), and Germany, World Cup holders and semi-finalists in 1988. Despite competing well in defeats against the Netherlands and Germany and a fine 3–0 win against the CIS, the team was knocked out at the group stage.[3]

After Scotland failed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Andy Roxburgh was replaced by Craig Brown as Scotland manager.[4] Brown successfully guided Scotland to the 1996 European Championship tournament, in second place behind Russia, in a qualifying group also featuring Greece, Faroe Islands, Finland and San Marino.[4] The first game at the tournament against the Netherlands ended 0–0, raising morale ahead of a much anticipated game against rivals England at Wembley Stadium.[4] Gary McAllister missed a penalty kick and a goal by Paul Gascoigne led to a 2–0 defeat. Scotland recovered to beat Switzerland 1–0 with a goal by Ally McCoist. England taking a 4–0 lead in the other match briefly put both teams in a position to qualify, but a late goal for the Netherlands meant that Scotland were eliminated on goals scored.[4] The Netherlands and Scotland both had four points and a goal difference of minus one.[5]

2000s

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Scotland finished second in their qualifying group for UEFA Euro 2000. The Czech Republic won the group, after winning all their matches. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia and Lithuania all finished seven points behind Scotland, with the Faroe Islands bringing up the rear. Scotland were the third best second placed team, which qualified them for the play-offs. They were drawn against England. On 13 November 1999, England won the first leg 2–0 at Hampden Park, with Paul Scholes scoring both goals.[6] Four days later, Scotland won the return leg at Wembley.[7] Don Hutchison scored the winner for Scotland in a 1–0 win, which wasn't enough to prevent England qualifying for Euro 2000.

Scotland, once again, finished second in their qualifying group in qualification for Euro 2004. This time Germany were the group winners, with Iceland, Lithuania and the Faroe Islands finishing behind Scotland. On 7 June 2003, Scotland drew 1–1 with the Germans at Hampden with Kenny Miller scoring the equaliser.[8] The second-place finish saw Scotland progress to the play-offs, where they were drawn against the Netherlands. On 15 November 2003, Scotland won the first leg 1–0, via a James McFadden goal.[9] However, the Dutch won 6–0, four days later, in Amsterdam to knock Scotland out of the competition.[10]

Scotland faced Italy and France, who had contested the 2006 World Cup final, in their qualifying group for UEFA Euro 2008. A 6–0 victory over the Faroe Islands started the campaign strongly,[11] before defeating Lithuania 2–1 in Kaunas.[12] On 7 October 2006, Scotland moved to the top of their group with a surprise 1–0 victory over France at Hampden Park.[13] Scotland were defeated 2–0 in Ukraine four days later to end Scotland's winning start to the campaign.[14] On 24 March 2007, Scotland won 2–1 against Georgia with a late goal from Craig Beattie,[15] before falling 2–0 to World Champions Italy in Bari.[16] Despite the defeat Scotland were level on points at the top of the qualifying group with France and Ukraine; Italy were two points behind.[16] Victories over the Faroe Islands and Lithuania followed,[17][18] before another 1–0 victory against the French, this time in Paris. James McFadden scored the winning goal.[19] A 3–1 victory over Ukraine on 13 October 2007 saw Scotland strengthen their position at the top of the group,[20] but a 2–0 defeat to a youthful Georgia side saw the campaign turn.[21] Scotland required a win over Italy in their final game to qualify for Euro 2008, but fell to a 2–1 defeat after a late Italian goal put the Scots out.[22] Scotland finished their group in third place.

2010s

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Scotland finished third in their UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying group, behind World and European Champions Spain and the Czech Republic. On 3 September 2011, a stoppage time Czech penalty saw them steal a point from Hampden Park, which ultimately proved vital for Scotland's qualification chances.[23] Scotland would have finished second in the group and reached the play-offs, with victory in that match.

UEFA Euro 2016 saw eight additional teams qualify for the finals than was previously the case. This meant that the top two from each qualifying group would qualify, with the third placed team entering the play-offs. Scotland's 1–0 defeat against Georgia was the pivotal game of the group.[24] A stoppage time equaliser from Poland on 8 October saw Scotland eliminated.[25] Scotland finished fourth, behind Germany, Poland and the Republic of Ireland.

2020s

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Teams line up for Scotland vs Croatia at UEFA Euro 2020, in front of a limited capacity at Hampden

Scotland hosted three group games and a last 16 match during UEFA Euro 2020, which was held at venues across Europe including Hampden Park, but was delayed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26] The team qualified for the tournament via the playoffs (based on finishing top of their mini-group in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League – they were third, outside the automatic places, in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying group) by winning penalty shootouts against Israel[27] and Serbia.[28] Defeats by the Czech Republic and Croatia at Hampden, either side of a goalless draw with England at Wembley[29] (all played with a limited number of spectators present due to COVID-19 restrictions) meant that Scotland finished bottom of Group D.[30]

A record-breaking winning run at the start of Euro 2024 qualifying, of five consecutive matches, meant that Scotland qualified for Euro 2024 with two matches to spare.[31]

Statistics

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Overall record

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Year UEFA European Championship record Qualification record
Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squad Pld W D L GF GA Position
1960 Did not enter Did not enter
1964
1968 Did not qualify 6 3 2 1 10 8 2nd / 4
1972 6 3 0 3 4 7 3rd / 4
1976 6 2 3 1 8 6 3rd / 4
1980 8 3 1 4 15 13 4th / 5
1984 6 1 2 3 8 10 4th / 4
1988 8 3 3 2 7 5 4th / 5
1992 Group stage 5th 3 1 0 2 3 3 Squad 8 4 3 1 14 7 1st / 5
1996 12th 3 1 1 1 1 2 Squad 10 7 2 1 19 3 2nd / 6
2000 Did not qualify 12 6 3 3 16 12 2nd / 6[32]
2004 10 5 2 3 13 14 2nd / 5[33]
2008 12 8 0 4 21 12 3rd / 7
2012 8 3 2 3 9 10 3rd / 5
2016 10 4 3 3 22 12 4th / 6
2020 Group stage 22nd 3 0 1 2 1 5 Squad 12 5 2 5 17 20 3rd / 6[34]
2024 24th 3 0 1 2 2 7 Squad 8 5 2 1 17 8 2nd / 5
2028 To be determined To be determined
2032
Total Group stage 4/17 12 2 3 7 7 17 — — 130 62 30 38 200 147

Matches played

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Year
(manager) 		Round Opponent Score Result Venue Scotland scorers
1992
(Roxburgh)		 Group stage  Netherlands 0–1 L Gothenburg —
 Germany 0–2 L Norrköping —
 CIS 3–0 W Norrköping Paul McStay, Brian McClair, Gary McAllister
1996
(Brown)		 Group stage  Netherlands 0–0 D Birmingham —
 England 0–2 L London —
  Switzerland 1–0 W Birmingham Ally McCoist
2020
(held in 2021)
(Clarke)		 Group stage  Czech Republic 0–2 L Glasgow —
 England 0–0 D London —
 Croatia 1–3 L Glasgow Callum McGregor
2024
(Clarke)		 Group stage  Germany 1–5 L Munich Antonio Rüdiger (o.g.)
  Switzerland 1–1 D Cologne Scott McTominay
 Hungary 0–1 L Stuttgart —

Head to head records

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Final tournament head-to-head
Opponent Pld W D L GF GA W% D% L%
 CIS 1 1 0 0 3 0 100 0 0
 Croatia 1 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 100
 Czech Republic 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 100
 England 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 50 50
 Germany 2 0 0 2 1 7 0 0 100
 Hungary 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 100
 Netherlands 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 50 50
  Switzerland 2 1 1 0 2 1 50 50 0

Qualifying

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Qualifying head-to-head
Opponent Pld W D L GF GA W% D% L%
 Austria 2 0 1 1 3 4 0 50 50
 Belgium 8 2 1 5 8 16 25 12.5 62.5
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 2 0 0 3 1 100 0 0
 Bulgaria 4 0 3 1 2 3 0 75 25
 Cyprus 2 2 0 0 6 0 100 0 0
 Czech Republic 4 0 1 3 5 8 0 25 75
 Denmark 4 3 0 1 5 2 75 0 25
 East Germany 2 1 0 1 3 2 50 0 50
 England 4 2 1 1 5 5 50 25 25
 Estonia 2 1 1 0 3 2 50 50 0
 Faroe Islands 8 6 2 0 23 6 75 25 0
 Finland 2 2 0 0 3 0 100 0 0
 France 2 2 0 0 2 0 100 0 0
 Georgia 6 3 1 2 7 6 50 16.67 33.33
 Germany 4 0 1 3 5 8 0 25 75
 Gibraltar 2 2 0 0 12 1 100 0 0
 Greece 2 1 0 1 1 1 50 0 50
 Iceland 2 2 0 0 4 1 100 0 0
 Italy 2 0 0 2 1 4 0 0 100
 Liechtenstein 2 2 0 0 3 1 100 0 0
 Lithuania 8 5 2 1 10 3 62.5 25 12.5
 Luxembourg 2 1 1 0 3 0 50 50 0
 Netherlands 2 1 0 1 1 6 50 0 50
 Northern Ireland 2 1 0 1 3 1 50 0 50
 Norway 4 3 1 0 12 7 75 25 0
 Poland 2 0 2 0 4 4 0 100 0
 Portugal 4 2 0 2 6 5 50 0 50
 Republic of Ireland 4 1 2 1 2 2 25 50 25
 Romania 4 1 2 1 4 4 25 50 25
 Russia 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 100 0
 San Marino 4 4 0 0 13 0 100 0 0
 Spain 6 1 1 4 7 11 16.67 16.67 66.67
  Switzerland 4 1 2 1 6 7 25 50 25
 Ukraine 2 1 0 1 3 3 50 0 50
 Wales 2 1 1 0 4 3 50 50 0

Appearances

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Rank Player Matches Years
1 Ché Adams 6 2020, 2024
Andy Goram 1992, 1996
Grant Hanley 2020, 2024
Gary McAllister 1992, 1996
Stuart McCall
John McGinn 2020, 2024
Callum McGregor
Scott McTominay
Andrew Robertson
10 Gordon Durie 5 1992, 1996
Stewart McKimmie 1992, 1996
Ally McCoist 1992, 1996
13 Stuart Armstrong 4 2020, 2024
Tom Boyd 1992, 1996
Ryan Christie 2020, 2024
Kevin Gallacher 1992, 1996
Billy Gilmour 2020, 2024
Jack Hendry
Scott McKenna
Kieran Tierney

Goalscorers

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Player Goals 1992 1996 2020 2024
Gary McAllister 1 1
Brian McClair 1 1
Ally McCoist 1 1
Paul McStay 1 1
Callum McGregor 1 1
Scott McTominay 1 1
Own goals 1 1
Total 7 3 1 1 2

Squads

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See also: UEFA Euro 1992 squads, UEFA Euro 1996 squads, UEFA Euro 2020 squads, and UEFA Euro 2024 squads

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Doyle, Paul (11 November 2014). "How Gary Mackay became Ireland's favourite Scotland player". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. ^ "1992 – Small but perfectly formed". UEFA. 5 October 2003. Archived from the original on 21 April 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  3. ^ a b "European Championship 1992". Rec Sport Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d "Craig Brown's highs and lows". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 October 2001. Retrieved 31 August 2008.
  5. ^ Barrie Courtney (14 March 2004). "England: International results 1995–1999 details". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 July 2010.
  6. ^ "Scholes silences Scots". BBC Sport. 15 November 1999. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  7. ^ "England book Euro 2000 place". BBC Sport. 19 November 1999. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  8. ^ "Scotland hold Germany". BBC Sport. 7 June 2003. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Scotland take first leg honours". BBC Sport. 15 November 2003. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Scotland thrashed by Dutch". BBC Sport. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Scotland 6-0 Faroe Islands". BBC Sport. 2 September 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  12. ^ "Lithuania 1-2 Scotland". 6 September 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  13. ^ "Scotland 1-0 France". BBC Sport. 7 October 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  14. ^ "Ukraine 2-0 Scotland". BBC Sport. 11 October 2006. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Scotland 2-1 Georgia". BBC Sport. 24 March 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  16. ^ a b "Italy 2-0 Scotland". BBC Sport. 28 March 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  17. ^ "Faroe Islands 0-2 Scotland". BBC Sport. 6 June 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Scotland 3-1 Lithuania". BBC Sport. 8 September 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  19. ^ "France 0-1 Scotland". BBC Sport. 12 September 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  20. ^ "Scotland 3-1 Ukraine". BBC Sport. 13 October 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  21. ^ "Georgia 2-0 Scotland". BBC Sport. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  22. ^ "Scotland 1-2 Italy". BBC Sport. 17 November 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Scotland 2-2 Czech Republic". BBC Sport. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  24. ^ "Georgia 1-0 Scotland". BBC Sport. 4 September 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  25. ^ "Scotland 2-2 Poland". BBC Sport. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  26. ^ Coyle, Andy (7 December 2017). "Hampden loses out on hosting opening match of Euro 2020". STV Sport. STV. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  27. ^ Mullen, Scott (8 October 2020). "Scotland 0–0 Israel". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  28. ^ "Scotland win shootout to end 23-year wait for a major tournament". BBC Sport. BBC. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  29. ^ England frustrated by steely Scotland in Euro 2020 stalemate at Wembley, David Hytner, The Guardian, 18 June 2021
  30. ^ Mullen, Scott (22 June 2021). "Croatia 3–1 Scotland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  31. ^ "Euro 2024: Scotland qualify for Germany finals thanks to Spain win in Norway". BBC Sport. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  32. ^ Scotland lost in a play-off against England.
  33. ^ Scotland lost in a play-off against the Netherlands.
  34. ^ Scotland qualified by winning play-offs against Israel and Serbia.
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