Gilmour Loss Dents Scotland's Hopes Against Croatia At Crunch Euro Encounter

Scotland’s bid to reach the knockout stages of a major international tournament for the first time was rocked by the announcement on Monday that Chelsea midfielder Billy Gilmour had tested positive for coronavirus.

GLASGOW

Scotland will now have to find a way to cope without him — he is forced to self-isolate for 10 days — but Clarke is at least blessed with options in midfield, which is why he had resisted the clamour to start Gilmour until the trip to London

Rarely will the loss of a player with just one senior start for his country be so lamented.

The 20-year-old walked away from Wembley on Friday with the man-of-the-match award after getting the better of a host of fellow Premier League stars as Scotland kept their Euro 2020 campaign alive with a 0-0 draw against England.

Steve Clarke’s side need to beat Croatia at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on Tuesday to stand any hope of reaching the last 16.

“We always do it the hard way, or the Scottish way,” said midfielder John McGinn ater a 2-0 defeat to the Czech Republic in Scotland’s first major tournament game for 23 years a week ago let them with a mountain to climb.