Celtic captain Callum McGregor played for the entire 90 minutes in Scotland’s 1-1 draw at EURO 2024 last night, earning his 61st cap for Steve Clarke’s men.
The Tartan Army travelled to Cologne knowing that defeat would all but end their chances of qualifying for the Round of 16. Nevertheless, a typically spirited Scottish showing earned a valuable point on matchday two.
Anthony Ralston also earned his second start of the competition and remained for the duration; meanwhile, James Forrest and Greg Taylor are yet to receive their first minutes in Germany.
Nevertheless, this piece is centred around the Celtic skipper, so how did he fare up against Granit Xhaka and company?
Callum McGregor shines for Scotland against Switzerland
Leading from the front, McGregor was one of Scotland’s better players on the night despite the pressure attached to the occasion, driving his nation forward from the engine room.
Per Fotmob, the 31-year-old earned a match rating of 7.3/10. He also completed 34 of his 36 attempted passes (94%) and created two chances for his teammates, one resulting in Scott McTominay’s goal after showing composure inside the area to find the Manchester United man.
Defensively, the Glasgow-born man won 100% of his tackles and made two clearances, one interception and two recoveries, coupled with four defensive actions. McGregor also came out on top in three duels, capping a productive evening against one of the competition’s most underrated sides.
Of course, there was also the funny tweet from Celtic’s official X account that read: ‘The Celtic captain sets up the opener’ following comments from Graeme Souness during the week where he insinuated he couldn’t remember the Hoops captain’s name despite singling out McGregor for his role in the Germany defeat.
Light-hearted humour aside, he more than played his part in helping Scotland keep their hopes of progression alive.