Berlin (dpa)
Scotland coach Steve Clarke confirmed that he was keen to contain player Ryan Porteous, who received a red card during the heavy 1-5 loss to Germany at the opening of Euro 2024.
Speaking about Porteous, Clark said in statements reported by the British news agency (PA Media): “Porteus has not been expelled for two years, and he has been a great player since he was given the opportunity to participate against Ukraine.”
He explained, “He was expelled in Cyprus because he blocked a goal and did not catch the opponent.”
The Scotland coach continued, “He tried to prevent a goal against Germany, and he actually intervened strongly, and we are happy that Gundogan did not suffer a severe injury.”
Clark continued, “The player is definitely frustrated, but we will help him. Don’t worry about that.” The Scotland coach spoke about the reasons for the heavy loss to Germany, saying, “I spoke with the players and realized my mistake, but I think they misunderstood my instructions.”
He continued, “Players must be flexible. The matches are strong and fast. Of course, they realize that they have let everyone down, and they feel disappointed, but they know that they must prepare with full force for the next match, because loss is possible in football.”
Clark continued, “We made a lot of mistakes against Germany, and we have to correct them in the next match.”
He concluded his statements by saying, “I can criticize myself. I may have provided a lot of information that confused the players relatively, and we worked to correct that, and I hope that we will present a different performance in the second match.”
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