Kieran Tierney‘s Scotland were eliminated from the European Championships last night after defeat to Croatia, but the Arsenal man was full of admiration and respect for their rivals.
The Scots were downed 3-1 at Hampden Park to see them knocked out of the group stages with just one point, while each of Croatia, England and the Czech Republic move through into the next round.
Tierney was refusing to lose his head after the loss however, giving praise to Modric and their opponents on the whole, describing them as both ‘magnificent’ and ‘unbelieveable’.
“The Modric goal knocked the stuffing out of us because we knew we were going to have to score two,” Kieran said after the final whistle(via RTE).
“And we knew the way the game was going it was going to be hard because they were unbelievable.
“Modric, especially, I think his performance was incredible. And as a team Croatia were magnificent.
“It was just tough to play against.
“Callum’s goal gave us every chance. It was a tough first half but it was the perfect time to score and give us more confidence going into the second half. But, it never turned out to be that special night.
“We knew once it was 2-1 it was going to be tough.
“But we never gave up, that’s for sure. We never gave up trying. Our effort was always there, no matter the score-line, no matter the minute.”
While you can’t help but feel bad for Tierney, especially after his respectful words for his opponents, I can’t help but feel a little relieved that he didn’t showcase his talents further at the competition, as I believe some hugee clubs around Europe could definitely profit by signing a player of his ability.
We have a diamond in KT, and I hope that reports of a new deal will prove to be true so that any worries about losing him in the near future can drift away.
Patrick
Despite their elimination from the tournament,Scotland can look forward with a measure of optimism as in Billy Gilmour, Nathan Patterson and David Turnbull they have three highly talented youngsters who will set the heather on fire In the near future.The fact that they decided to play McTominay and Tierney in a back three system highlights their weakness at centre back to add to the absence of top quality strikers.On the night, Croatia were excellent, and their midfield trio is up their with the best in the Euros.With regard to KT, I hope he enjoys a well deserved break and recharged his batteries for next season.Arsenal could do with more players with his ability and more importantly his unfailing attitude.
We know KT is a great player we also know he might be a Wilshire in the making in terms of his injury record. It is dangerous to offer the guy a big contract before we know he can stay healthy.
The only thing in common between both players is that they were both overplayed few or many of us should i say on this site predicted his last injury and were calling for him to be given a rest and I’m hoping that the rumour of a new 5 years contract is true that’s why we need a proper LB as a cover for KT.