At the half, Ronaldo was brought on and after hitting the post twice, he eventually broke through and forced in a delicious cross from Nuno Mendes to score his 901st goal of the season.
Scotland only won, one of their last 14 games and are now without a win in their last eight competitive games, which is a record set by their Thursday loss to Poland.
Even though Clarke’s team is bottom of their section, following Croatia’s 1-0 victory over Poland. He can still find some encouragement in the manner in which they have performed in the two games this window.
Ronaldo ‘no-one can catch him’
It was against Scotland from the start.
As Bernardo Silva and Fernandes attempted to find gaps in the defence, they were occasionally compelled to play a back six while pinned back on the edge of their own box.
But the Scots held their ground in that low block. After two penalties were given up on Thursday against Poland, bodies were thrown on the line. But tackles were executed with extreme caution.
Ball retention was one issue. Scotland found it difficult to hit either McTominay or Lyndon Dykes and rarely held the ball for an extended period of time, when they did win it.
But every now and then they managed to put together a passing move and get it up the pitch.
The persistent unavoidable feeling, that they will give in is another problem for Clarke.
33 goals have now been scored in 14 games. They have been compromised five times in the last six after the 85th minute. It is necessary to address the fragility.
Additionally, there’s the minor issue of their current winless streak. Which is the longest in their history at eight games without a victory in competitive play.
It doesn’t seem like it will end soon with four difficult Nations League games left – Portugal at Hampden, Croatia at home and away and a trip to Poland.
Regarding Ronaldo, what is there to say? Even though he had a bad Euros, he was still powerful here.
He has extended his lead atop the men’s football all-time international goalscorer chart by scoring against 48 different nations.
‘Surely no-one can catch him’.
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke:
“I’m obviously disappointed because it seemed like the game would provide us with something for a while. The players deserved recognition for their hard work and talent.
“I reminded the players that we need to know where we are in the cycle and what we’re attempting to accomplish. We can try to build with these matches as we attempt to re-adjust following the summer.
“Being eligible for a tournament is the ultimate aim. Even though, we have been a strong team we are at this level even though, it would be nice to pick up some points rather than give up late goals. Many benefits exist—that is. if you overlook the outcomes.”
Match stats
- Scotland’s current winless streak is the longest in their history, after they have lost their last eight competitive games (D3 L5).
- Now, McTominay has scored 11 goals for Scotland. All in games against rival teams.
- After this match, Andy Robertson earned his 76th cap, tying Paul McStay for fifth place on the Scotland all-time appearance list.
- Bruno Fernandes has contributed directly to 21 goals (11 goals, 10 assists) in 20 appearances since Roberto Martinez took over as Portugal’s manager in March 2023, four more than any other player.
- Portugal attempted 16 shots in the first half of the game: they last did so in the first 45 minutes of a match against Azerbaijan in March 2021. In addition, Scotland has not faced, as many opponents in the first half since October 2012 (16 v Belgium).
