MX23RW : Sunday, May 28 22:18:24| >> :600:5267703:5267703:

Stuart Armstrong happy to bring smiles to Scotland with England draw

Stuart Armstrong happy to bring smiles to Scotland with England draw
© Reuters
Friday's goalless game at Wembley has put smiles back on Scottish faces after their Euro 2020 campaign got off to a bad start against Czech Republic.

Scotland midfielder Stuart Armstrong aims to lift the nation further after being heartened by the reaction to their unexpected point at Wembley.

The mood of the Scotland fans was temporarily deflated after their first major tournament game in 23 years ended with a 2-0 Hampden defeat by Czech Republic.

But they raised themselves for the Auld Enemy clash and acclaimed the performance that kept hopes of progress alive.

Scotland will almost certainly qualify if they can beat Croatia at Hampden on Tuesday and Armstrong is taking inspiration from the effect their draw with England has had.

Scotland fans
Scotland fans hailed their team at Wembley (Nick Potts/PA)

"To see the reactions has been fantastic," the Southampton player said.

"I'm not big on social media but seeing that directly from family and friends sending bits and pieces through, it's great to see that our performance and point against England brought a lot of confidence and smiles to the faces of the country.

"To build on that and give them something to cheer about on Tuesday is our ambition and focus.

"After the first game there was a lot of disappointment around the result and we knew we had to get something from the game, be that one point or three points.

"To come way with what we set out to achieve was obviously massive for us and it sets us up for the final game."

Stuart Armstrong
Armstrong in action against the Czechs (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The goalless draw punctured some of the confidence from England fans and pundits who expected a comfortable home victory.

"Obviously, there was a lot of expectation from them that they should win the game," Armstrong said. "We didn't listen to that.

"We knew our own qualities and how we wanted to play and, of course, how we wanted to improve or own performance from the first game. I think we did that.

"The boys defended superbly for the whole game. We stifled them, frustrated them and we came out with a very well-deserved point."

Scotland now need to sharpen up in the attacking third as they seek their first goal of the European Championship.

"It would be a problem if we weren't creating any chances," Armstrong said.

"We have had quite a few chances, some good opportunities. It's just those fine margins that will take us to the next level, get us a goal, which we do need on Tuesday."

Che Adams
Che Adams was lively at Wembley (Nick Potts/PA)

The former Celtic midfielder started against the Czechs before coming off the bench against England and his on-field understanding with Southampton team-mate Che Adams could be a possible route to goal.

"I thought he was excellent at Wembley, a really good performance, a hard performance against good quality defenders," Armstrong said.

"So it was really pleasing for me to see him perform so well, and I have obviously seen that every week at Southampton.

"To get on the pitch together would be nice, and link up. As long as the ball goes in the net, I'm not too bothered."

ID:452094: cacheID:452094:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:7960:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Southampton's Danny Ings celebrates scoring against Burnley in the Premier League on April 4, 2021
Read Next:
Southampton 2021-22 Premier League fixtures in full
>
Read more about Stuart Armstrong Football
rhs 2.0
Real Madrid Until The End
Today's games header
10am
Ofner
Cressy
10am
Kypson
Albot
10am
Khachanov
Lestienne
10am
Goffin
Hurkacz
10am
Martinez
Greikspoor
Result
Kostyuk
Sabalenka
3 2
6 6
10am
Udvardy
Shymanovich
Result
Podoroska
Ponchet
6 6
0 2
Result
Zhang
Frech
1 1
6 6
10am
Parrizas Diaz
Hunter
11.30am
Vesely
Tsitsipas
11.30am
Kokkinakis
Evans
11.30am
Fucsovics
Grenier
11.30am
Isner
Borges
11.30am
Kubler
Diaz Acosta
12pm
McDonald
Korda
12pm
Arnaldi
Elahi Galan
12pm
Bejlek
Rakhimova
12pm
Linette
Fernandez
12pm
Sakkari
Muchova
1.30pm
Cornet
Giorgi
1.30pm
Tauson
Sasnovich
1.30pm
Jeanjean
Birrell
1.30pm
Mertens
Hruncakova
1.30pm
Djere
Rublev
1.30pm
Cazaux
Moutet
1.30pm
Shelton
Sonego
1.30pm
Carballes Baena
Nava
2pm
Zidansek
Zheng
2pm
Townsend
Potapova
3pm
Pouille
Rodionov
3pm
Shevchenko
Otte
3pm
Musetti
Ymer
3.30pm
Niemeier
Kasatkina
3.30pm
Collins
Pegula
3.30pm
Sherif
Brengle
3.30pm
Samsonova
Volynets
3.30pm
Bondar
Begu
3.30pm
Errani
Teichmann
6pm
Mannarino
Humbert
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
CManchester CityMan City38285594336189
2Arsenal38266688434584
3Manchester UnitedMan Utd38236958431575
4Newcastle UnitedNewcastle381914568333571
5Liverpool381910975472867
6Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton381881272531962
7Aston Villa38187135146561
8Tottenham HotspurSpurs38186147063760
9Brentford381514958461259
10Fulham38157165553252
11Crystal Palace381112154049-945
12Chelsea381111163847-944
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves38118193158-2741
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham38117204255-1340
15Bournemouth38116213771-3439
16Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest38911183868-3038
17Everton38812183457-2336
RLeicester CityLeicester3897225168-1734
RLeeds UnitedLeeds38710214878-3031
RSouthampton3867253673-3725

Real Madrid Until The End
Ted Lasso creative

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!