Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay was in international action on Friday night as Scotland looked to fine-tune their preparations for Euro 2024.
The Red Devils ace has been a key player for club and country in recent years, including this season. He has 34 Man United appearances under his belt this term.
McTominay has also not missed a game for Scotland since September 2022, and on Friday night, he played the full 90 minutes in their trip to the Netherlands.
Sadly, it wasn’t a good night for Steve Clarke’s charges, as they found themselves on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat.
Admittedly, the scoreline doesn’t reflect the overall performance of the visitors. They were decent up until about the 70th minute, but then they crumbled.
Indeed, McTominay and his compatriots came close to taking the lead in the 18th minute.
Ryan Christie weighed in with a header which the opposition goalkeeper tipped onto the woodwork, and Lawrence Shankland only just missed a rebound.
However, the hosts then took the lead through Tijjani Reijnders just before the break, and they never looked back.
Then, in the 72nd minute, Georginio Wijnaldum added a second, and Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen scored one apiece in the final 10 minutes.
How did Manchester United ace Scott McTominay fare for Scotland against the Netherlands?
Despite finding himself on the receiving end of a 4-0 defeat, McTominay didn’t actually play too badly.
However, he did miss a gilt-edged opportunity in the match, heading a cross from Anthony Ralston over the bar late on.
In addition, the Man United man was caught under the ball for the Netherlands’ third of the night.
Despite those errors, the Scottish press rated him fairly kindly after the game, with two outlets giving him a 7 out of 10 score.
Football Scotland wrote: ‘Made so many thrusting forward runs as he always does but was lacking that final bit of quality at the last minute. We’ll forgive him an off night in that department.’
Meanwhile, Edinburgh Evening News wrote: ‘Got stuck into the midfield battle.
‘No major attacking threat with his midfield duties keeping him busy, before missing a gaping headed chance. Caught under the ball for the third.’
McTominay and Scotland will be eager to make amends when they face Northern Ireland at Hampden Park on Tuesday.
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