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Austria wins does not necessarily mean another cup final. Clarke
Goodnight Vienna, hello World Cup? A win for Scotland has never felt so important since James McFadden's shot from Paris at the top corner.
Steve Clarke's men defeated second seeds Austria, whose 23rd world ranking is 26 places lower than the Scots'. This allowed them to reclaim their 2022 World Cup qualification destiny.
A penalty by Lyndon Dykes secured the historic victory of 1-0. The nation hopes to make back-to-back major tournaments, and host its first World Cup since 1998. Is there a more significant win for Scotland in the last decade and a quarter?
The competitors
France were famously defeated home and away during the qualifying campaign to Euro 2008. In October 2006, Gary Caldwell beat France home and away to win the Hampden title. McFadden's thunderbolt at the Parc des Princes in the next year will be forever etched in the minds of Scotland fans.
These historic results should have brought the national team into the finals on a high note of optimism. Instead, Scotland lost to Georgia and Italy, allowing them to miss the celebration. Yet again.
Notable scalps have not been recorded in the years since. Croatia, which was ranked fourth in the world, was defeated in Zagreb and Glasgow in just four months. They were defeated in Zagreb and Glasgow within four months, which was the fourth best team in the world at that time. Scotland was already out of contention for next year's World Cup.
Hampden's 3-2 win over Israel secured a Euro 2020 play off place and Nations League promotion. However, the Israelis are not a superpower in international football.
While Scotland won an epic play-off against Serbia in November to reach Euros, it did so after extra time and penalties.
Austria is the best choice for a 90-minute Scotland victory.
Scotland worked so hard... McGinn looked a bit bloated at times
Scotland gets their'swagger back'
Clarke and his men responded with a perfect response amid growing criticism and doubts.
The mood music turned sombre with a lossless Euro 2020, followed in a humiliating defeat by Denmark and a scrappy victory against Moldova.
You'll find a Scotland standout in any position you choose. Three months ago, Billy Gilmour had never played at an international level beyond the under-21 age group. Six caps later, the 20-year old is the mainstay of the midfield.
Gilmour had 44 passes, which was the most of any Scotland player in Vienna. Callum McGregor only managed to beat him in accuracy. To relieve pressure waves, the Norwich City loanee took possession 10 times, two more than any teammate.
This was not a one-off. Opta stats show that the youngster from Chelsea ranked first in Scotland's triple-header against Denmark, Moldova, and Austria. He was ranked first for touches (213), passes (171) and successful passes (144), and possession won (23). He was also second in tackles (7), and created chances (4).
Jack Hendry and Grant Hanley - who were often overlooked by their more celebrated defensive colleagues Kieran Tierney, Andy Robertson and Andy Robertson respectively - were heroes in keeping the hosts away. Dykes and Che Adams had an important role in the decisive penalty and enjoyed ruffling Austrian feathers.
Neil McCann, a former Scotland winger, said on Sportscene that "there wasn't a fail." "Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes displayed an incredible work ethic up front. John McGinn sometimes looked a bit sluggish at times, but he soon recovered. Jack Hendry quickly becomes a key player at the back.
"This was a huge result. Steve Clarke suddenly believes in his squad and has a formula that allows him to have a little swagger while still achieving big results.
Defense case
Clarke is unlikely to make Scotland a prolific scorer, but you can improve your defensive skills.
In recent months, missed chances have been a constant theme. Scotland had scored once in all three Euro 2020 games. Then they lost to Denmark. They then managed to draw a blank in Denmark. And Scotland only managed one goal against Moldovan minnows.
Even though Austria's winner was from the penalty spot, and only after VAR intervened, Scotland's defensive strength was the foundation for victory. Craig Gordon was so well protected that his only meaningful save came at the 79 minute.
Willie Miller, a former Scotland defense stalwart, was impressed and said on Sportsound, "Clarke has the credentials to put together a team that is really difficult to beat." Anything beyond that is an added bonus.
"Tonight they've created another couple of good chances, but his strength it to get teams organized. We all believe he is the right guy because of results like tonight.
Craig Levein, a former Scotland defender and manager, agreed that "In recent matches we haven’t defended as effectively as we needed to. But that was back to Clarke doing what Clarke does best." That performance was amazing.
