Scotland midfielder John McGinn felt Georgia were “at it” when showing reluctance to get their Euro 2024 qualifier resumed at a sodden Hampden.
McGinn was full of praise for the team of ground staff, ball boys, stewards and Scottish Football Association officials who helped sweep the pitch of excess water following a heavy downpour in the hour before kick-off on Tuesday.
The game was suspended immediately after Callum McGregor fired Scotland into a sixth-minute lead and only resumed close to two hours later following extensive work on the pitch, several pitch inspections and false dawns.
Georgia did not appear ahead of one scheduled restart time before the game eventually got back under way at 9.33pm before Scotland went on to win 2-0.
McGinn said: “The message was ‘concentrate’ but I wasn’t doing very much concentrating. I didn’t know what was going on.
“One minute it was 10 minutes kicking off, then it’s 20 minutes, 30 minutes.. It wasn’t fair on the fans.
“I think the game could have been played a little bit earlier but Georgia were up to it, they were at it, they wanted the game stopped, which we would probably do in the same situation.
“It was difficult, it was probably difficult for the referee but I think common sense prevailed in the end and we got the game played. But it certainly could have been played earlier.”
The victory put Scotland eight points clear in Group A after they won their first four qualifiers for the first time.
McGinn said: “It feels a bit subdued. It ‘s a huge win for us. We are absolutely delighted. It was a really, really strange, night, something none of us have ever experienced. But we dealt with it in the best way possible.
“Credit to all the ground staff, everyone who got together. I saw the ball boys even helping at one point.
“It was really important we got the game played and thankfully for all of us we did.”
The conditions were far from ideal even after the resumption and McGinn suffered more than most, completely mis-kicking what had looked to be an excellent chance before the ball got stuck in a puddle just as he was about to shoot.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe it,” the Aston Villa captain said. “I was away celebrating. I should have known the puddle was there. Big McTominay was laughing at me as we were running back.
“It’s just one of these things, you need to adapt. We have had this issue here against San Marino before. Maybe it’s something they will look at, I don’t know, I am not a turf specialist.”
McGinn dismissed suggestions that Georgia’s delaying tactics had given Scotland any more motivation.
“The motivation for us was four wins out of four,” the former St Mirren and Hibernian player said.
“It’s surreal for us as Scottish players just to say that but something has changed in that dressing room and we are certainly building something here and it’s exciting. We are looking at the table and starting to get really excited.
“Spain have got games to catch us up but we want to qualify. We are very, very close now which is exciting in itself.
“We will take one step at a time and not get carried away but we are very, very close now.”
Southgate: Henderson will be a miss to the England squad
Gareth Southgate says Jordan Henderson will "be a miss" after omitting the midfielder from his preliminary 33-man England squad for Euro 2024.
Henderson has 81 senior caps for England but saw his place fiercely debated after joining Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq last year from Liverpool.
The 33-year-old was booed by some England fans during a friendly win over Australia last October, having suggested his presence in Saudi Arabia could be a "positive" thing for LGBTQ+ rights in the country in a widely criticised interview with The Athletic.
In January, he secured a move to Ajax but has only made nine Eredivisie appearances as the former Dutch champions finished fifth.
Asked about Henderson’s absence, Southgate said: "[Jordan Henderson] will be a miss. He's an exceptional individual and a fantastic human being. He's been in that leadership role for a long time.
"We've got young players with a lot of caps. There's no reason why young players can't lead.
"The 33 isn’t quite a fair definition because we’re taking a longer squad with some younger players to look at. Hendo has given himself every chance.
"From the last camp, he missed five weeks through injury, and he hasn’t been able to get to that tempo since then. It’s a big call to make, the three players from last time, he, Ben [White] and Marcus [Rashford] all had excellent professionalism."
Marcus Rashford is another one of the names overlooked after a poor season for Manchester United.
He scored just seven goals in 33 Premier League games this campaign after netting 30 in all competitions for the Red Devils in 2022-23.
"These are of course difficult calls," Southgate added when asked about Rashford.
"You are talking about players that are very important players. With Marcus, in that area of the pitch, I feel that other players have had better seasons, it’s as simple as that."
Ronaldo headlines Portugal squad for Euro 2024
Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal into his 11th major international tournament after being named in Roberto Martinez's 26-man squad for Euro 2024.
Ronaldo opted against retiring from international football after Portugal suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Morocco at the 2022 World Cup, remaining an integral part of the Selecao setup under Martinez.
His 14 European Championship goals are an all-time tournament record, putting him five clear of Michel Platini, and he will look to widen that gap in Germany this year.
Portugal, who won all 10 of their qualifiers while scoring 36 goals, will open their Group F campaign against the Czech Republic before facing Turkey and Georgia.
There are few surprises in Martinez's squad overall, with Manchester City's Matheus Nunes and fellow midfielder Renato Sanches among the most notable absentees.
Bayern Munich's Raphael Guerreiro is absent after missing the end of the Bundesliga campaign through injury, but Wolves winger Pedro Neto is included despite only returning from a hamstring issue on the final day of the Premier League season.
He is one of 10 players from England's top flight to receive the call-up, with Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and City star Bernardo Silva among the biggest names to make the cut.
Unlike England boss Gareth Southgate, Martinez opted against naming an expanded squad and cutting it down to 26 closer to the tournament, so his final party will take on Finland, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland in warm-up friendlies next month.
Full 26-man squad: Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves), Rui Patricio (Roma), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Nelson Semedo (Wolves), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Pepe (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Neves (Benfica), Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Otavio Monteiro (Al-Nassr), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Francisco Conceicao (Porto), Goncalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain), Joao Felix (Barcelona), Pedro Neto (Wolves), Rafael Leao (Milan).
Rashford and Henderson omitted from preliminary England squad for Euro 2024
Marcus Rashford and Jordan Henderson have been omitted from Gareth Southgate's 33-man preliminary squad for England's Euro 2024 campaign.
Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions for Manchester United in 2022-23 and has been a fixture in Southgate's England squads, but a dismal 2023-24 campaign has led to him being overlooked.
He scored seven goals in 33 Premier League appearances this season, making it his second worst campaign since netting five times as a teenager in 2016-17. He scored just four times under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick in 2021-22.
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon has benefitted from Rashford's drop-off, receiving the call-up ahead of June's warm-up friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
Henderson, meanwhile, has seen his England place fiercely debated since he left Liverpool to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq last year.
The 33-year-old was booed by some England fans during a friendly win over Australia last October, having suggested his presence in Saudi Arabia could be a "positive" thing for LGBTQ+ rights in the country in a widely criticised interview with The Athletic.
Henderson – who has 81 senior England caps – swapped Al-Ettifaq for Ajax in January in a bid to ensure he made Southgate's squad, but that effort has been unsuccessful.
Henderson made nine Eredivisie appearances for Ajax in 2023-24, failing to prevent them from finishing fifth, their lowest position since 1999-00 (also fifth).
His exclusion, which could spell the end of his international career, has opened the door for a surprise call-up for Adam Wharton, who has excelled since joining Crystal Palace from Blackburn Rovers in January.
The 20-year-old, who has only been capped once at under-21 level, contributed to a stunning upturn under Oliver Glasner as Palace clinched a top-half Premier League finish.
Palace have won 24 points in 13 Premier League games under Glasner. From his first match on February 24 onwards, only Manchester City (35), Arsenal (34) and Chelsea (28) bettered their tally.
Wharton's Palace team-mate Eberechi Eze is also in after scoring 11 goals and registering four assists in 2023-24, while Liverpool's Curtis Jones is another uncapped midfielder to make the squad.
Elsewhere, Southgate has several fitness concerns among his defensive cohort, and Chelsea full-backs Reece James and Ben Chilwell are two big-name omissions after enduring injury-hit campaigns.
Chilwell, who also missed the 2022 World Cup through injury, was limited to just 756 minutes across 13 Premier League appearances this campaign.
James, meanwhile, returned from a long-term hamstring injury in a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest recently, but saw his season end one game early when he was sent off in a victory over Brighton and Hove Albion.
Liverpool's Jarell Quansah, Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite, Palace's Marc Guehi and Brighton and Hove Albion's Lewis Dunk have all been included at centre-back alongside regular starters Harry Maguire and John Stones, while Luke Shaw is also in despite missing long periods through injury.
Captain Harry Kane is also present after missing the end of Bayern Munich's season with a back issue, which required him to travel back to England to undergo treatment.
Southgate will cut his squad down to 26 players after England face Iceland in their final pre-tournament friendly at Wembley Stadium on June 7.
Full 33-man squad: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), James Trafford (Burnley), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Curtis Jones (Liverpool), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa).
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