Scotland 3-0 Cyprus
McGinn (21)
McTominay (87, 90+2)
A bountiful career by MOTM Callum McGregor was topped off with a 50th Scotland cap as the Scots brushed Cyprus aside at a lively Hampden Park thanks to an early John McGinn strike and two late Scott McTominay goals to end it 3-0.
The 3-0 scoreline barely represents what went down during the match and how it played out – mainly in the second half.
Five changes to the Scotland team meant a debut for Angus Gunn who is originally from England – a bold choice made by Steve Clarke, who pledged his allegiance to his national team until 2026, by signing the contract to stay a further three years.
Cyprus manager Temur Ketsbaia made six changes to his lineup since their last match – a 3-2 win over Israel.
The match started with Scotland immediately putting Cyprus on the backfoot with some impressive dominant possession plays – mainly thanks to the mobile back three of Porteous, Hanley and Tierney.
Aaron Hickey recorded the first chance and shot on target for Scotland, sneaking a shot to the bottom right near-post – only to be dealt with by Demetriou swiftly.
Winger Nicholas Ioannou proved to be a nuisance for the Scotland right wing as the left-winger drew a considerable amount of fouls in the first half.
The first goal came in the 20th minute after good work from Tierney and Armstrong saw Robertson surge into the box to supply a thrilling cross at the expense of Gogic, for the oncoming McGinn who drills it into the net in front of him.
A VAR check delayed Scotland's celebrations but eventually gave the goal.
It was not until the second half we would see another goal – Scotland’s performance dropped considerably and resorted to fouling Cyprus around six times.
But the Scotland defence of Porteous, Hanley and Tierney did well to stand tall and allow minimal chances for Cyprus attackers, who were visibly getting frustrated.
The substitutions by Clarke proved to be key as McTominay, Christie and Dykes all played a part in the dramatic ending of the match.
Two late rapid-fire goals came from McTominay after great work to rattle the Cyprus defence by Robertson and Dykes – each notching an assist.
A late red card for Nicholas Ioannou is given after he receives his second yellow of the game thanks to kicking the ball away in protest – Scotland capitalises to apply extra pressure on the guests.
The Scotland crowd on the day was loud, proud and blaring – it did not fail to help their stars push on against the Southeastern European visitors.
Scotland will face a brilliant challenge against Spain next up, which will look to be their biggest test yet in the European qualifiers.