ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN (AFP) - Alex McLeish refused to quit as Scotland manager after their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign got off to a "horrible" start with a humiliating 3-0 defeat against Kazakhstan on Thursday (March 21).
The Kazakhs, ranked 117th in the world, struck twice inside 10 minutes through Yuriy Pertsukh and Yan Vorogovskiy to leave an under-strength Scotland shell-shocked in the Group I clash in Nursultan.
McLeish's men secured the safety net of a playoff to qualify via the Nations League in November and already that looks like their only realistic route to a first major tournament in 22 years as Baktiyor Zainutdinov's terrific header made it 3-0 six minutes into the second half.
It was one of the most embarrassing results in Scotland's history and McLeish admitted his players had paid the price for their woeful start.
"It was horrible. They hit us with two blockbusters," McLeish said. "It was disappointing not to see a great reaction from that.
"At half-time we tried to change it a wee bit to see if we could unsettle Kazakhstan, but they were very sharp on the night.
"It's a sore one. The facts are that we were beaten by a team ranked lower than us.
"On paper, we should win but I think you have to give Kazakhstan a bit of credit for the way they played." Scotland have a painful history of falling victim to shock results against the game's minnows, but Kazakhstan are the lowest ranked nation to beat Scotland.
In terms of the misery inflicted only a 1-0 defeat against Lithuania in a European Championship qualifier in 2003 and a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica in the 1990 World Cup compare to the Kazakhstan shocker.
A draw against the Faroe Islands in 2002 was another low point, as were the 1978 World Cup draw with Iran and a 4-0 thrashing by Norway in 2009.
McLeish to battle on
When it was put to McLeish that it could be enough to cost him his job, the former Rangers boss vowed to fight on.
"I'll just continue doing my job and suffice it to say I'm not going to get drawn into that question," he said.
"It possibly puts more pressure on me. We have introduced a few new names over the last year or so and it can take time, but I know we don't have time." Asked if the loss was the worst of his career, McLeish added: "I don't really rank defeats. I just feel in terms of losing then I have to bounce back.
"I always feel low after a defeat but I'm pretty good at bouncing back." Without captain Andy Robertson and the highly-rated Kieran Tierney, McLeish was forced to name Graeme Shinnie in an unfamiliar role at left-back, and the Aberdeen skipper was exposed for both the first two goals.
Scotland looked longingly for an offside flag that never came as Pertsukh ran onto a long ball over the top and fired high past the helpless Scott Bain.
The visitors never recovered and Shinnie was caught ball-watching as Vorogovskiy was picked out by Islambek Kuat's pass to slot past Bain again.
Kazakhstan scored just six goals and failed to win a game in their entire qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
However, they had half that goal tally and the three points sewn up before the hour mark when Scott McKenna was outjumped by Zainutdinov, who directed his header across Bain into the bottom corner.
Scotland were also without Ryan Fraser and Charlie Mulgrew, who were not selected in agreement with their clubs due to the plastic surface the match was played on.
Bouncing back with victory away to San Marino on Sunday (March 24) is now imperative for Scotland to have any chance of automatic qualification from Group I by finishing in the top two.
But with Russia and World Cup semi-finalists Belgium also in the six-team group, Scotland already have a mountain to climb.
Arsenal Inflict First Domestic Defeat On Solskjaer To Surge Into Top Four. League football match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in London on March 10, 2019
Arsenal inflict first domestic defeat on Solskjaer to surge
The UEFA Champions League trophy is unveiled in Madrid on May 29, 2019 ahead of the final football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur on June 1. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP) Madrid will deploy an unprecedented number of police and security personnel for Saturday's all-English Champions League final, and use a drone for the first
Madrid plans 'robust' security for all-English Champions
Barcelona have agreed a deal to sign Sassuolo forward Kevin-Prince Boateng on a six-month loan deal with an €8 million Barcelona set to complete shock Boateng loan move. Trending News.
In the dying minutes of Iran´s 3-0 defeat to Japan on Monday, striker Sardar Azmoun slapped Japan midfielder Gaku Shibasaki in the face, sparking a melee that also involved his teammates Ehsan
Call in Iran for footballers to be punished over Japan melee
Champions League 2018: Messi scored a record eighth Champions League hat-trick on Tuesday in Barcelona's 4-0 win over PSV Eindhoven. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe, endured a frustrating night in a 3
La Liga: 'Decisive' Messi nets with 50th career hat-trick
Premier League final day build-up; Let's look at the major talking points. Could there be a title race miracle? After the most intense title battle for many a year, it comes down to the final weekend.
Premier League Talking Points - Gameweek 1 - YouTube
Emery urges consistency during season's final straight
Unai Emery insists Mesut Ozil still has a future at Arsenal despite leaving the midfielder out of the Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat to Tottenham. Ozil watched from the stands as Arsenal lost 2
Mesut Ozil: Arsenal manager Unai Emery says midfielder has a
The latest Tweets from Destiny Beckons (@DestinyBeck0ns): "The IGN First Game for July is Destiny:
Liverpool put aside talk of title-race jitters as they returned to the top of the Premier League with a confident 3-0 victory over Bournemouth at Anfield on Saturday. The win, secured with goals
Liverpool back on top after 3-0 win over Bournemouth
Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund have insisted Chelsea-target Christian Pulisic will not be allowed to leave in the January transfer window. According to British media reports, Chelsea are
Bundesliga: Chelsea target Christian Pulisic not for sale in
watch coppa america live streaming live free
watch usa soccer live stream
watch live soccer streaming free android
watch coppa america live streaming sctv
watch premier league live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch live english premier league online free streaming
watch premier league live streaming qatar
watch champions league live streaming pakistan
watch soccer online free streaming live espn
watch soccer game live espn
watch premier league live streaming quality
watch soccer live streaming kenya vs ethiopia
cpl 2018 live streaming watch caribbean premier league t20 2018
watch coppa america live streaming youtube
watch live streaming soccer manchester united
watch coppa america live streaming live
watch everton vs tottenham live soccer streaming
watch soccer online free streaming live english
watch coppa america live streaming quality
watch coppa america live streaming barcelona
watch coppa america live streaming direct
watch arsenal southampton premier league live stream
watch champions league live streaming now
watch premier league net live stream channel
watch champions league draw live stream total sportek
watch sky sports premier league online free streaming live
watch soccer online free streaming live iphone
watch soccer online free streaming live no registration
watch coppa america live streaming canada
how to watch soccer live streaming free
watch coppa america live streaming indonesia
watch sky sports premier league live stream
watch coppa america live streaming reddit
watch premier league darts live stream
watch champions league online free live streaming hd
watch indian premier league live stream online
soccer tv live football streaming gratuit
watch premier league live streaming online - soccer portal
watch uefa champions league final live streaming free online
watch live streaming of premier league football
watch epl live streaming on iphone
watch soccer live streaming kenya
watch premier league live streaming xfinity
where to watch champions league live streaming
watch champions league final live streaming
watch champions league live streaming espn
watch live stream soccer games online free
watch soccer live streaming juventus
watch soccer online free streaming live app
super soccer tv live streaming persib
how to watch champions league live streaming
watch premier league live in stream
watch soccer live streaming xbox
watch coppa america live streaming now
watch champions league live streaming putlockers
best site to watch live soccer streaming
watch coppa america live streaming australia
watch coppa america live streaming game
super soccer tv live streaming garuda select
watch soccer saturday live stream
watch the champions league live stream
free live football streams watch live streaming tv premier league
watch soccer games live stream free app
watch coppa america live streaming video
watch live streaming soccer online espn3
live football watch free live football streaming free soccer
watch premier league live streaming xbox one
watch soccer live streaming zimbabwe
watch champions league live streaming crictime
watch soccer online free streaming live without registration
watch soccer online free streaming live bbc
watch coppa america live streaming ronaldo 7
watch champions league live streaming live free
watch live soccer streaming on iphone
watch champions league live streaming live
watch champions league live streaming pc
watch coppa america live streaming qatar
watch coppa america live streaming total sportek
watch champions league live streaming zee5
watch soccer live stream links
watch soccer live streaming qatar
watch soccer online free streaming live canada
watch coppa america live streaming sub eng
watch coppa america live streaming free online
watch coppa america live streaming hd free
watch real madrid vs juventus live streaming of champions league
soccer tv live football streaming garuda select
www.watch premier league live stream.com
watch coppa america live streaming cricfree
watch coppa america live streaming twitch
watch champions league live streaming vk
watch soccer online free streaming live first row
watch soccer live streaming juventus vs manchester united
watch champions league final live streaming online
watch live soccer game barcelona vs real madrid
watch soccer live streaming xfinity
watch premier league live streaming xbox
watch uefa champions league live streaming youtube
watch uefa champions league live streaming free online india
watch champions league live streaming vf
watch soccer aid live stream
watch premier league live streaming vk
watch coppa america live streaming gratis
khan tv pw watch indian premier league 2018 live streaming
watch coppa america live streaming rcti
watch soccer live - live football streaming
watch coppa america live streaming juventus
watch soccer world cup live streaming
watch soccer live streaming reddit
super soccer tv live streaming indonesia
watch coppa america live streaming english
watch coppa america live streaming india vs england
watch sky sports premier league live streaming
watch uefa champions league draw live streaming youtube
watch indian premier league live streaming
#sixtimes #433skills #kopisusu #battuteepiche #league2 #rugby #golf #cristiano #bayervshoffenheim #bayern #kickoff #golazo #league1 #satira #mancityvsliverpool #winner #nutmeg #hoffenhiem #premierleague #Liverpool #champion #knuckleball #zinedinezidane #freekicks #kroenkeout #roadtrip #romania #realmadrid #ucl #premierleague #liverpoolfans #boxing #comics #visubal #Celtic #Vip45 #realmadridcf #girlsniteout #fcbarcelona #tokyo #championship #lovefootball #england #Barcelona #Bar #soccer #oasis #trollfootball #livestreaming #nationsleague #arsenal #conference #manchestercity #vandijk #streamingbolaid #leomessi #manchesterunited #liverpool #londoncity #fut #transfernews #liverpoolcity
No comments:
Post a Comment