Steve Clarke reacted to two contentious penalty calls after Scotland suffered a narrow defeat to Morocco.
The Scots conceded a goal in the first two minutes of the game and despite consistent pressure, they were unable to find the elusive equaliser.
However, Scotland could have been awarded a series of penalties when John McGinn was bundled to the ground in the second-half, before Scott McTominay also went down in the box. The referee waved away all protests from Clarke’s men.
Group C
| Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 | D W |
| Scotland | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | W L |
| Brazil | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | D |
| Haiti | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | L |
Updated 20 Jun 2026, 01:12
Speaking after the 1-0 loss to Morocco, the Scotland boss said: “We had half a chance coming off one of the late corners, I think [Lyndon] Dykes got his head onto it and Scott McTominey was coming in after him, but these are the little moments in the game that have got to go your way.
“It’s like the challenge on John McGinn in the box. Sometimes the referee will give it, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes VAR will talk about it, sometimes they don’t.
“The last man challenge on Che Adams in the first-half is also contentious, but it’s part of the game now.
“I’ve got to be honest I didn’t see the Scott McTominey one. I saw John’s and I saw the challenge on Che. It’s hard to comment on that one. If the guys in the studio were discussing it, then it must have been pretty close.”
Scotland’s major mistake in the opening 71 seconds
Steve Clarke is adamant his side can bounce back from the damaging defeat to ensure they make history.
He said: “Obviously, it was a terrible start for us, but the response to that was really good. Once we were in the game, we showed we can compete at this level.
“We showed we can compete against top ten teams. I think we’ve done that consistently. The disappointment is that we didn’t create anything that was clear.
“When you are playing top sides you have to work really hard to make chances. I’m a little frustrated but proud of the effort of the players. I thought they were fantastic.
“Typically Scotland; we get three points in the first one, and then we play two teams inside the top ten trying to get the elusive point, but we’ll give everything we’ve got to try and make the nation proud.”
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