It is Scotland's long-established fate to be tortured slowly in the finals of major tournaments, writes OLIVER HOLT after Steve Clarke's side are dumped out by 100th-minute Hungary winner

• e-mail

They went into the game yearning for the win that would have elevated them to the pantheon of Scottish football, the only players to carry their country into the knock-out stages of a major men’s tournament after 11 previous failed attempts.

Steve Clarke’s players knew that immortality beckoned them, that this was their opportunity to go one better than some of the world’s great players, players like Kenny Dalglish, Jimmy Johnstone, Graeme Souness, Denis Law and John Robertson, who had never progressed beyond a group stage.

It was their moment, their time, and they belted out Flower of Scotland in the MHP Arena before the game with the same visceral gusto as their fans, urging each other on into the heat of the battle to ‘rise now and be the nation again’.

But it is Scotland’s long-established fate to be tortured slowly in the finals of major tournaments and so it seemed apt that, when they most needed a performance of fire and fury to propel them forth, they only burst into life in added time at the end of the game and then lost to a last-minute Hungary winner that left them rock-bottom of Group A and out of the European Championship.

The torture continued right until the bitter end. Scotland are accustomed to last-gasp heartache in this quest — being knocked out of Euro 96 by Patrick Kluivert’s late consolation goal for Holland against England being foremost among them — and this was no different.

Scotland fell to a 1-0 defeat against Hungary and in turn were knocked out of Euro 2024

The Tartan Army conceded in the 100th minute of the match after Kevin Csoboth's strike

Angus Gunn and the plethora of Scotland defenders were unable to prevent the effort

So Scott McTominay saw his late prod clip the top of the bar deep into the 10 minutes of added time that had followed a sickening collision involving Barnabas Varga, Grant Hanley’s shot was saved from 12 yards out and an appeal for a penalty for handball was waved away.

And then in the final seconds of the game, with Scotland spent, Hungary broke away, the ball was crossed into the middle and substitute Kevin Csoboth swept it into the net. Scotland’s players sank to their knees. Their song, sadly, remains the same.

Hungary had gone into the game as favourites. Before the tournament, many had identified them as dark horses. In the build-up, they had gone 14 games unbeaten but that run ended in a warm-up game against Ireland and they lost their opening two matches in Germany, first against Switzerland and then against the hosts.

Scotland began as though they were going to defy the odds. They dominated possession and John McGinn, a cult hero among Scottish fans, looked sharper than he has at any stage in the tournament so far, turning sweetly away from his marker twice in quick succession and linking play cleverly.

But it was Hungary who created the first hint of an opportunity when the ball was moved quickly to Bendeguz Bolla 25 yards out. Bolla’s shot dipped and bounced just in front of Angus Gunn and the Scotland keeper scooped it away with his right arm.

If Scotland were fired up, Hungary competed robustly, too. Callum Styles, once of Bury and now of Barnsley, who qualified to play for Hungary through his grandmother, was cautioned for a lunging tackle on McGinn. You can take the boy out of Lancashire…

Hungary have a fine record with Styles in the team, though, and he soon won a free kick on the edge of the Scotland area when he went down under a challenge from Che Adams. Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai took it but it slammed into the Scotland wall.

Thousands of travelling Scotland fans saw their dreams crushed late on at the Stuttgart Arena

Hungary's Barnabas Varga was involved in a nasty collision with Scotland's Angus Gunn

Officials held up a sheet of cloth as the Hungary forward received medical treatment

Szoboszlai found himself standing over another free kick in a similar position five minutes before the interval after Adams had cleared a ball with an acrobatic overhead kick and Barnabas Varga had thrown himself to the floor as if there was contact. Which there wasn’t.

Read More

EXCLUSIVE

LISTEN: Why is Rice immune from criticism and do England have ANY chance of winning the Euros?

Szoboszlai chose not to shoot this time. He drifted a chip to the back post and Willi Orban ran to it unmarked. Orban seemed certain to score but he directed his header just too high and it clipped the top of the bar. He may also have been offside.

Hungary had a different kind of escape just before half time. Jack Hendry and Andras Schafer both went for a loose ball and Schafer lost his nerve at the last moment and went into the challenge studs up. He planted them in Hendry’s leg and the referee showed him a yellow card. It might easily have been a red.

Scotland were criticised by some for not being more positive in that first half.

For all their possession, they did not create a single chance or commit enough players forward to look as if they would. But Clarke is a patient man. He had made sure Scotland had not played themselves out of it.

Scotland were dealt a blow early in the second half when McTominay, who had been growing more and more influential, was given a harsh booking for an innocuous foul. It meant he would have missed the Round of 16 match, should they have progressed.

Clarke’s side showed tentative signs of coming to life. McGinn surged down the right and broke through a couple of challenges before his cut-back towards Adams was cleared. Adams urged the Scotland supporters on to even greater heights.

Chances were scarce but Hungary missed one when Marton Derdal met a decent cross from Bolla at the near post. The cross was hit with pace and power but Derdal mistimed his header and it bounced off his shoulder before trickling to safety.

The game was stopped for ten minutes after a shuddering collision between Gunn and Barnabas Varga as Scotland defended a free kick. Gunn rushed out to meet it and, as he punched the ball, he inadvertently crashed into Varga.

Steve Clarke painted a dejected figure as he sat in the Scotland dugout after the result

It was a sickening collision. It seemed clear Varga had been knocked unconscious. His teammates rushed to him and rolled him over into the recovery position. They frantically beckoned more medics to come to his aid.

Sheets were held up around the stricken player and Szoboszlai rushed to the touchline to help carry on a stretcher. Eventually, Varga, who plays for Ferencvaros, was wheeled away on another stretcher, with the sheets still protecting him from view.

Scotland thought they had a penalty 10 minutes from time when McTominay played a ball through to substitute Stuart Armstrong. Armstrong appeared to be pulled to the ground by Orban but the referee waved away the claims.

Scotland launched that late onslaught and McTominay hit the bar but it was left to Csoboth to apply the coup de grace that every Scot had feared was coming. It is the way it always is.