Xhaqiri’s strike denies Scotland first Euro win

The last time Scotland won a Euro championship game was in 1996, and after starting Euro 2024 with an embarrassing 5-1 defeat against Germany last Friday, Scotland had to try again in search of their first victory in 28 years.

Compared to their woeful performance on Friday, where they recorded their heaviest-ever European Championship defeat, Scotland started better against the Swiss and even struck first through Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay.

The Tartan Army took an early lead against Switzerland despite having to defend in the first ten minutes of the game before hitting the back of the net against the run of play with a counter-attacking move. Callum McGregor found himself in the Swiss box and held the ball up in the area before picking out Scott McTominay, whose shot was deflected in by Fabian Schär.

Switzerland had a lot of experience on their side as they have one of their oldest-ever Euros starting lineups, and with the experience and composure, they got back into the game as 10 minutes later, Xherdan Shaqiri took advantage of Anthony Ralston’s poor back-pass to hit a first-time finish from the edge of the box.

He became the first player to score in the last three Euro and World Cup finals with that goal, and Switzerland also was in the ascendancy. Although they found the back of the net through Dan Ndoye, his effort was ruled out for offside.

Switzerland could have run out winners with a late goal from Breel Embolo, but his goal didn’t stand. Scotland continues to look for their first victory at the Euros championships for the first time in 28 years, and they will face Germany on Sunday, a game Andy Robertson believes is a must win.

“We’ll take the draw, and we’ve taken it into the last game, and that’s all we can ask. We need to go again Sunday because that’s a massive game for us now.” Robertson said.