Scotland end losing run in Nations League draw with Portugal

Scotland have ended their losing run with a hard fought Nations League draw against Portugal at Hampden.

The national team avoided a fifth consecutive defeat as they held the team ranked as the eighth best in the world to a 0-0 draw in Glasgow.

However they have still only won one of their last 16 games in a run that dates back over a year to September 8, 2023.

Their only victory in that time was a 2-0 friendly defeat of Gibraltar ahead of Euro 2024.

But they finally got their Nations League campaign up and running with their first point, despite having to cope with long periods of Portuguese pressure on Tuesday night.

Scott McTominay came close to giving Scotland an early lead in the opening stages when he rose highest to connect with an Andy Robertson cross but the header was well saved by Portugal keeper Diogo Costa.

Craig Gordon then did well to keep out a Cristiano Ronaldo up the other end as both sides looked to get a foothold on the game.

Ryan Christie had a good chance on the 20 minute mark when the ball fell nicely for him at the edge of the box but he will be disappointed that he never really troubled Costa with the strike that was easily saved.

Portugal had the lion’s share of possession in the first-half but rarely troubled Gordon as they looked to take the lead.

It remained 0-0 going into the break with both sides recording two shots on target each.

Ronaldo will feel like he should have added to impressive scoring tally early in the second-half.

The veteran captain looked like he had all the time in the world when the ball was floated into the box but he sent his header well over the bar.

Scotland had another huge let off just moments later when Francisco Conceição got a clear sight of goal inside the area after being played in by Ronaldo but he scooped his shot well off target.

The visitors then had a sustained period of pressure and they started to turn the screw as Scotland struggled to keep hold of the ball.

Scotland had a couple of fleeting moments on the counter-attack and came close to taking the lead when a cross from Lewis Morgan was headed back across goal by Adams into the path of McTominay but the Napoli midfielder failed to connect with the volley.

Moments later Anthony Ralston made a bursting run up the right-hand side before drilling the ball across the face of goal but it was just inches too long for McTominay to reach for what would have been a tap-in.

The Tartan Army had their hearts in their mouth with just under ten minutes remaining when the ball fell to Ronaldo inside the area but his shot was just wide of the post.

As the game drew to a close Scotland were desperate to avoid yet another late defeat and they had Craig Gordon to thank for keeping them level when he smothered a shot from Ruben Neves before denying Ronaldo an opportunity from the rebound.

They had to survive another late scare when Devlin put his body on the line to deny a close range effort from Rafael Leao in the dying minutes.

And that proved to be the last real chance of the game as Steve Clarke’s men got their first point on the board.

Next up will be Croatia at Hampden before they end the campaign with a visit to Poland next month.