Ballon D'Or to Super Subs: the highlights of Scotland's recent form in the Nations League
Scotland recent national team form has shocked some of its fans and has momentarily turned Hampden into heaven. Scotland have had a rocky start in the nations league but sit 3rd in group A1 which consist of Portugal, Croatia, and Poland. The Nations League matches which Scotland faced group opponents Croatia and Poland have led Scots to believe in the team and its recent form.
Here are the highlights of the top moments from Scotland's previous two Nation's League games.
Meme Momentum:
Recent memes have been made in reaction to Scotland's recent performances in the Nations League. Much to fans delight, the Tartan Army are pleasantly surprised by the recent wins made by Steve Clarke's men. Memes and reactions made were trending on Reddit in the Scottish Football subreddit.
@empeekay via r/ScottishFootball
The meme helps to convey the joy of Scotland's performances in the Nations League while also highlighting their progression and struggles within National Team football. The famous meme is where the character misunderstands the meaning of the butterfly, which in this context applies to how, as a nation, Scotland is not used to winning; therefore, these recent performances are almost surreal.
Stunning performances from Ben Doak;
The new team edition of Ben Doak has had Scotland fans boogieing, and with a recent assist the 19-year-old has been unstoppable with calls from fans of a future Balon D'or in his future. Scotland's National page on TikTok should rebrand as a fan page for Ben Doak, with majority of the comments on videos being praise for the 19 year old.
@ReillyTod via TikTok
@therealdeal_23 via TikTok
Doaks recent form against Croatia and Poland have made him a fan favourite and has revived the hope of Scotland's young talent. The comment made by user @ReillyTod suggest that the wingers performance was that good that the young star deserves the highest award in football, which conveys the excitement around the young player. Furthermore, the comments made by @therealdeal_23 express how Scotland finally have a new young superstar on their team and convey the fans excitement to have this talent in the team. Overall, the Tartan Army is proud to have an exceptional home-grown talent perfuming at an international level. The Middlesborough winger assisted John McGuinn in both games and has helped with the creativity that Scotland had been missing from their previous games. His performances in the Nation's League have had the Scotland fans wondering about what could have been in the Euros last summer as the player missed the endeavour due to an injury.
Super John McGinn:
John McGinn has recently been on form playing for Scotland with a goal in both Croatia and Poland games. The Aston Villa player came off the bench as a super sub and scored against Croatia. He also scored against Poland in the opening minutes of the game and is the "heartbeat of the team" which was highlighted by his teammate Andrew Roberston. McGinn's recent form has had Scotland fans singing Super John McGinn's praises as he has recently been showing up in this round of national duties. A video surfacing around YouTube conveys just how important John McGinn is to the Scottish National team and how his crucial goals have the Tartan Army cheering and chanting his name.
video @Goggsy99 via YouTube
John McGinn's role as a key player for the National Team is enforced by fans chanting and cheering his name as he creates chances in the midfield and scores crucial goals. The video conveys how McGinn is a clear fan favourite and beloved footballer in Scotland, helping to boost the fans morale and creating confidence within the National Team. The Aston Villa players recent performances have had Hampden erupting in cheers and chants due to his crucial goals and defining moments which have helped Scotland seal the win in their last two Nation's League games.
Andy Roberston's late winner against Poland:
Scotland's Captain Andrew Robertson proved his captaincy with a late minute winner against Poland in the 93rd minute of the game. The Liverpool players goal secured the win for the Tartan Army and lifted their place to 3rd in the group table. The header in injury time provided the crucial defining goal that had fans in awe at the captain's first goal in 5 years for the national team. A survey was conducted in which fans of Scotland's national team were given the option to vote on which recent key Nations League goal they preferred.
In the survey conducted, 80% of fans preferred Andy Robertson's last minute winner in the Poland match over the 20% of fans preferring John McGinn's super sub goal during the Croatia match.The survey revealed the Liverpool players goal was deemed more important and crucial according to Scotland fans. Andy Robertson also played a crucial part in Scotland's win against Croatia, helping to anchor the team with his crossing abilities.
Craig Gordon hilarious boot save against Croatia:
Hearts goalkeeper Craig Gordon's boot save kept Scotland on the safe side against Croatia during their counterattack. The seasoned Scotland keeper saved a shot by Andrej Kramaric with just the ledge of his football boot. The clipped video went viral paired with the audio of "Big Shoe". The clip which was posted on Scotland's national teams official TikTok page was met with a positive response from fans and gathered 4,400 likes and 765,200 views.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZNdJ62bRJ/
The short viral clip shows Craig Gordon's exceptional save by stopping the ball from hitting the net with only his boot. The save impressed the Scotland fans and silenced the haters who were worried about his age linked performance as the save showed Gordon's fast reflexes and agility. The Hearts keeper is 41 years old which has raised some concerns about him starting most games but with crucial saves in both Croatia and Poland matches, the keeper has solidified his mark in the team.