It isn’t a happy camp in Poland after Scotland rocked up and relegated them to League B of the Nations League.
It’s been a hard old time of it for Steve Clarke but some promising performances are yielding results at last for the boss who answered his critics and then some during this international break. Late heartbreak had been the theme of this Nations League campaign, but Scotland turned that narrative on its head with last gasp wins over Croatia and Poland to keep our heads above water in League A.
Andy Robertson was the hero with his late winner ensuring it was the Poles, and not us, who drop out of the top division automatically while Scotland head for a League A/B playoff in March. The Polish media, understandably, aren’t exactly happy with how it unfolded. The rest of the world, meanwhile, were thoroughly impressed with Clarke and his troops. Here’s what everyone is saying to it this morning.
Super Express (Poland)
Polish daily Super Express say Scotland ‘weren’t a monolith in defence’ hinting we were there for the taking. They wrote: “The embarrassment of the Polish national team with Scotland 1:2, which resulted in relegation from Division A of the Nations League, is still echoing.”
And they carried some quotes from former Poland keeper Jan Tomaszewski, who demanded coach Michal Probierz ‘behaves like a real man’ and resigns. He said: “I think that Michał Probierz should not be fired here. I think that Michał will behave like a real man and resign himself. Unfortunately, he has proven this year that we played with two goalkeepers, we played with two number nines. In this training set-up, we have no chance for the World Cup. And this must be said with full responsibility for the word. He should resign himself, because there are no effects.
“If you have a sucker in football, then strangle him. If not, well, he’ll strangle you. And they strangled us in the 94th minute. There’s no excuse for that. What did we do? We were the first to be eliminated from the European Championships and practically then you had to think about it. And what is Michał Probierz doing, what is the coaching staff doing? He’s making fun of the Nation League. The jokes ended in chaos and unfortunately relegation to division B.”
Fakt (Poland)
Some more reaction from Poland as Fakt zero in on the fact that all Poland had to do was draw – and they failed right at the death. The fans let them hear it too. They said: “It wasn’t a complicated task. The Polish national team needed a point in the match against Scotland to take third place in Group A1 of the Nations League. In the added time of the match, the team from the British Isles scored a goal that gave them victory. After the referee’s final whistle, the fans bluntly expressed what they thought about the attitude of the White and Reds.
“After this defeat, the team led by coach Michał Probierz was relegated from the A division of the Nations League. The fans booed the players as they went to the locker rooms. Recently, everyone felt sorry for him. After the match with Scotland, he became the subject of mockery.
“In time, the National Stadium was mainly filled with celebrating fans of the visiting team. In March next year, Scotland will play in the play-offs to stay in the A division of the Nations League.”
Slobodna Dalmacija (Croatia)
Another goal from Portugal would have sent Scotland into second place and a guaranteed top seed for the World Cup qualifying draw. It wasn’t to be as Croatia battled to earn a point. And Slobobodna reckon Scotland doing the business meant they had to ‘step on the gas’ to keep second place.
“Portugal is excellent, especially with the ball. We went into the second half more aggressively. We also knew that Scotland was leading, so we had to step on the gas. The second half was perfect.”
Associated Press (UK)
You wait all day for a win and then two come along at once. The AP said: “After going nine matches without a win, Scotland appeared rejuvenated as it condemned a Robert Lewandowski-less Poland to League B. Scotland hit the woodwork twice in the first half and its inability to open a greater lead almost cost it when Kamil Piatkowski lashed a stunning strike. However, Scotland pushed forward for a winner and Robertson headed the decider in the third minute of stoppage time.”
Asisanet (India)
“Andy Robertson’s injury-time winner helped Scotland secure a 2-1 victory over Poland and a place in the League A/B playoffs. John McGinn opened the scoring in the first half, converting Ben Doak’s assist for his 20th international goal. Poland piled on the pressure, with Sebastian Szymanski and Karol Swiderski testing goalkeeper Craig Gordon, but Scotland’s defense held firm.
“Kamil Piatkowski equalized with a stunning long-range strike in the second half, setting up a tense finish. However, Robertson’s late heroics relegated Poland to League B and sent Scottish fans into raptures.”
Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland)
Familiar vulnerabilities came home to roost for Poland as Gazeta wrote: “They lost the goal that decided their relegation to the division in injury time. They fell to the bottom of the table and will spend the next edition of the competition at a lower level, among the average teams from division B.
“Less than 150 seconds after the referee’s opening whistle, the Poles conceded their 15th goal of the tournament, equalling Kazakhstan, the team with the most leaky defence in the Nations League up to that point. Among all 54 participants in the game.
“A touching vulnerability in their own penalty area has been the team’s trademark since Michał Probierz took over. Suffice it to say that the last goalkeeper to survive a match without conceding a goal was Wojciech Szczęsny. In the Euro 2024 play-off with Wales – in March, 12 matches ago.”