Celtic defender Anthony Ralston played for the entirety of Scotland’s draw with Switzerland at EURO 2024 last night as Steve Clarke’s men took their fate down to matchday three.
The Tartan Army now know that three points against Hungary in Stuttgart this weekend will more than likely guarantee a place in the knockout phase.
Xherdan Shaquiri’s equaliser for the Swiss came as a result of a loose pass from Ralston, albeit the former Liverpool man took his chance in exceptional fashion, proving why he has featured at the elite level for most of his career.
Scotland’s structural set-up for the goal left a lot to be desired. Ralston wasn’t the only one to blame, and he really shouldn’t have been forced into the mistake by his teammates’ careless usage of the ball; however, what is done is done; he will hold some of the blame, there is no point in taking it further than that.
Nevertheless, it is a mark of the man that he was able to recover and put in a solid second-half showing, something that Andy Robertson picked up on in his post-match interview.
Andy Robertson’s appreciation for Anthony Ralston’s mentality
Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, Scotland captain Robertson talked up Ralston’s mentality to recover from his error, claiming not many people would be able to enact such a turnaround.
He explained: “Obviously, we make a mistake, but let’s make no mistake about it; Tony Ralston was unbelievable after that mistake. Not many people could come back from that, you know, it was difficult for him, but (in the) second half, he was different class. Fair play to him to recover from that.”
Football isn’t linear, and mistakes are bound to happen, but what matters is your resilience to proceed forward and impact the game rather than getting too caught up in the moment.
Ralston has faced high-pressure situations his whole career, with his fair share of doubters along the way; nevertheless, he leaves it all out on the pitch and is a shining example of the determination and character needed to succeed.
In a split-second, Switzerland showed their class to level the scoring, something that Scotland could’ve dealt with better as a collective unit, with neither central defender dropping to receive the pass, resulting in a costly misunderstanding at a crucial moment.
Either way, who carries the can is irrelevant; there is still a chance four Celtic players could be involved in the last 16 of EURO 2024, which would be an impressive achievement.