Scotland U21 0-2 Portugal U21
Coming off the back of a first team win for the Scottish men’s national side over Belarus, it was the turn of the young team as the Under-21s faced Portugal at Motherwell’s Fir Park in a UEFA Euro 2027 qualifier.
Scotland had lost their opening encounter 2-0 away in Czechia on Friday night and now faced an uphill task against one of the world’s great talent-producing nations, who had been quarter finalists at the previous Euros during the summer.
Scot Gemmill made a raft of changes for matchday two, opting to persist with the 3-5-2 formation used against the Czechs.
Ruaridh Adams came in to replace Liam McFarlane between the sticks, with Dire Mebude, Kristi Montgomary, Jeremiah Chilokoa-Mullen and Findlay Curtis also starting in place of Ben McPherson, Aidan Borland, James Wilson and Cameron Gardner.
The visitors got us underway shooting towards the Davie Cooper Stand and controlled much of the early possession, testing Adams with a few long-range efforts without overly troubling the East Fife stopper.
They did, however, open the scoring. Geovany Quenda picked the ball up on the right wing and delivered a pinpoint curling cross into the six-yard box for Porto wonderkid Rodrigo Mora to flick home past the rooted Adams and into the far corner.
The diminutive 5’6” attacking midfielder ghosted into the area and finished superbly, underlining why he is already being touted for a full senior call-up.
Scotland were on the back foot for much of the half but carved out a couple of half-chances of their own. Former Rangers and Man City youngster Mebude found himself through one-on-one with Portuguese keeper João Carvalho in the dying minutes of the first period.
An excellent pass from wide by Curtis found him free on the penalty spot, but the Westerlo striker fired straight at the Braga man, who deflected the shot clear to preserve Portugal’s narrow half-time lead.
The visitors doubled their advantage early in the second half. Scotland, attempting to play out from the back, were caught in possession and the ball broke to Mora on the edge of the box with a clear sight of goal.
He drove forward, drawing Donovan across, before cleverly slipping the ball to Roger Fernandes, who swept home for 2-0. The €35m summer signing for Saudi side Al-Ittihad marked his first Under-21s goal with total ease.
The Scots were handed a lifeline when Portuguese captain and West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes was sent off for a poor challenge on substitute Miller Thomson. He initially received a booking for the tackle but talked himself into an early bath with dissent moments later, reducing his side to ten men.
Gemmill made changes in an attempt to inject freshness into his side, but the damage had already been done. The outnumbered Iberians showed their quality, holding firm to secure a valuable three points which moved them top of Group B, level on six points with the Czechs but ahead on goal difference with +7.
Portugal demonstrated the value of a squad stacked with players boasting regular first-team football, using their experience to manage the game with ten men and limiting Scotland to very little in the closing stages.
For Scotland, the result leaves them with just one win from their last five outings and already trailing the group leaders by six points. They return to action in mid-October with a must-win double-header against Azerbaijan and Malta, the other two winless sides in the section.
The young team have not qualified for a major tournament since the 1996 Euros, and need a return to form if that statistic is to change any time soon.
Scotland:
Adams 6; Donovan 6, Chilokoa-Mullen 5 (Cleall-Harding 5), Graham 5, Anderson 4 (Frame 5), Montgomary 5 ; Watson 6, Kelly 5 (One 6), Lawrence 4 (Thomson 6); Curtis 7 (Wilson 4), Mebude 3
Subs not used: McKenna, Mahady; McPherson, Borland.
Portugal:
Carvalho 8; Travassos 7 (Forbs 5), Gabriel 7, Oliveira 6, Parente 7; Quenda 8, Rodrigues 6 (Sa 5), M. Fernandes 2, D. Fernandes 7 (Sampio 6); Mora 9 (Amorim 5); Valera 7 (Semedo 6)
Subs not used: Gomes; Barroso, Moriera, Balde.
