Scotland finally get a win – they cracked Cristiano Ronaldo

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Scotland remain without a win but the losing streak is over and another win against Portugal was on display as Cristiano Ronaldo clapped sarcastically and stormed down the tunnel at the end of this goalless draw at Hampden. Ronaldo’s frustration at being denied by a goalkeeper older than him, in 41-year-old Craig Gordon, spilled over when Portugal were prevented from taking a corner in stoppage time, with referee Lawrence Visser blowing his whistle at full-time with Bernando Silva and Bruno Fernandes ran to the byline. Since Ronaldo had been in Visser’s ear all night, the Belgian had probably suffered enough and wanted it to be over.

So there were finally cheers for Steve Clarke and his beleaguered side, even if many came at the expense of Ronaldo, the pantomime villain who thundered off the pitch in a tantrum without shaking hands or clapping for the Portuguese supporters in the corner. In many ways that was mission accomplished for the hosts, who held on to lead five games in a row for the first time. Gordon was immense between the posts, as were Grant Hanley and John Souttar who earned a clean sheet with brave displays in central defence. Even debutant Nicky Devlin, a late replacement, played his part with a brilliant block on Rafael Leao. “He made us clear with that block,” beamed Clarke.

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The irony for Scotland, however, is that the country was poor for a long time, worse than during the previous Nations League defeats to Poland, Portugal and Croatia. Clarke’s side were wasteful in possession as they looked to play through the middle third and aimless in their attempts to hit long towards an isolated Che Adams. While their resilience and defensive organization in denying one of the world’s top sides was commendable, especially given the circumstances, there was little evidence of a plan or idea to lift the gloom. It is now only one win in sixteen for the national team. Relegation from the top of the Nations League still beckons.

The delay may have been that Portugal was shockingly bad, in a very different way. Rather than a severe lack of options facing Clarke amid Scotland’s injury crisis, it almost feels like Roberto Martinez has too many attacking talents to choose from. Martinez also refuses to turn away from Ronaldo who is at the center of his attack. It turns out that despite Ronaldo scoring in three consecutive international appearances and finishing a remarkable 133rd in victory over Poland on Saturday, Portugal have not learned their lesson from the mess of Euro 2024, where a chance at the trophy was sacrificed by Ronaldo to put above. everything else.

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Martinez is to blame and his approach to the Portuguese star was quite summed up by his reaction to that full-time tantrum. “I didn’t know,” Martinez replied, even though his captain had walked past him, huffing and puffing through the tunnel, threateningly and gesturing toward the stands with a thumbs up. In this Portuguese team, Ronaldo remains untouchable. He stayed until the end, even though it didn’t look like scoring. Neither does Portugal. Later, Bernardo Silva said there was “something missing” from their display. “I agree,” Martinez said. “We lacked precision in the final third.”

It will come as no surprise that Ronaldo was at the center of the action during his 200th international appearance. But this was a scrappy match with little quality, best summed up when Ronaldo and Nuno Mendes botched a Portugal free-kick 30 yards from goal, simultaneously putting each other short. The 39-year-old’s theatrical plea to referee Visser was accompanied by pantomime cheers from the Tartan Army, as he miscontrolled a diagonal pass and the ball slipped under his studs, or he missed with an effort on goal, of which there were several .

Ronaldo also offered a glimpse of the spectacle with a sudden leap into the air and an attempt at an acrobatic bicycle kick, which landed wide and the referee awarded a free kick the other way for dangerous play. It was such an evening for Portugal, who dominated without taking the lead. Scotland had much to thank their own veteran, Gordon, for saving a Mendes free-kick from the corner on its way to the top corner. Ronaldo, meanwhile, continued to shoot, firing low early on at Gordon on his left and sliding one over the crossbar on his right shortly before half-time.

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However, it was Scotland who produced the best chance of the first half. Clarke couldn’t have dreamed of a better combination than Andy Robertson’s clipped cross, which picked out an unmarked Scott McTominay six yards from goal. The big surprise came when McTominay headed straight at Diogo Costa. Then Scotland pulled away and invited possession, either by conceding possession or through cheap free-kicks – McTominay gave a rather rash clearance and picked up a yellow card for a lunge on his former Manchester United team-mate Fernandes.

The opener for Portugal seemed inevitable as Scotland continued to give away possession. An unmarked Ronaldo headed a golden opportunity over the crossbar after Robertson lost possession this time as he emerged from halfway. Then Ben Doak was caught and Francisco Conceicao curled over from a one-two with Ronaldo. Impetus came from the visitors through the introduction of Leao, who created Portugal’s best chance when he faced Fernandes. However, Gordon reacted smartly on the line and smothered the rebound to deny Ronaldo.

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Scotland did not bother Costa in the second half, but there were chances. McTominay’s touch and drive suddenly had Portugal turning, but Ryan Christie could not find Robertson or Doak, both in the space to his left. A knockdown from Adams fell to McTominay, who was unable to make contact. Scotland broke clear late on through Anthony Ralston, but he could not pass the cross through to McTominay, who stormed clear with him. In the end a point was justified, not one Ronaldo would agree with.