Scott McTominay is celebrating being part of a Scotland side which finallyy qualified for a major championships.
Scotland beat Serbia on penalties to reach Euro 2021, which will be the country’s first tournament since World Cup 1998.
The game in Serbia was a rollercoaster ride for McTominay and Scotland fans.
Scotland had the lead until injury time, when Real Madrid forward Luka Jovic popped up to score an equaliser.
There was no getting away from it, McTominay was at fault. He was the nearest player and he switched off.
It was a big moment, and if Scotland had gone onto lose, the Manchester United midfielder would have copped the blame – even if Scotland had persisted with their experiment playing him at centre-back.
McTominay bounced back
McTominay did not allow his setback to affect him, and helped Scotland steady in extra time and force penalties.
Once the tie and Euro 2021 qualification came down to spot kicks, McTominay did not shy away.
Had he missed on top of his error, then it would have been a long road back for the 23-year-old. He would have faced the David Beckham treatment from his country’s supporters.
McTominay held his nerve as he stepped up to take Scotland’s third penalty.
He struck the ball hard and placed it impeccably into the bottom corner. Even though the goalkeeper guessed the right way, he could not get near it.
It was pretty impressive given the magnitude of the occasion, coupled with the fact McTominay had never taken a penalty for Manchester United.
McTominay redeemed himself in the big moment, with Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall later saving Aleksander Mitrovic’s penalty.
It means next summer McTominay will feature for Scotland at Euro 2021 and one of the matches will be at Wembley against England.
A test up against Marcus Rashford should be entertaining to see.
Scotland rejoices
Here is a look at how Scotland fans reacted to McTominay’s penalty…
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