Scotland take Spain scalp, Croatia win
Glasgow, March 29
Scott McTominay scored twice as Scotland upset Spain 2-0 in qualifying for the European Championship, their first win in 39 years over one of the football’s biggest heavyweights.
McTominay’s goals came after he also scored two in a 3-0 win over Cyprus on Saturday and ended Spain’s 19-game unbeaten run in European qualifiers. The result also puts Scotland top of Group A with six points from two games.
Mateo Kovacic also scored twice as Croatia defeated Turkey 2-0 away for their first win in Group D. Romania and Switzerland both won in Group I, continuing their perfect starts.
Spain’s players were warned after McTominay scored two late goals in Scotland’s opening win over Cyprus in a Group A match. But few expected him to do it again Tuesday against a team that had not lost a European qualifying game since a 2-1 loss to Slovakia ahead of the 2016 tournament. Spain had not lost to Scotland since Maurice Johnston scored two and Kenny Dalglish added another in a 3-1 World Cup qualifier in November 1984.
In Group D, Croatia were forced to rely on goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to deny Turkey’s Cengiz Under and Kerem Akturkoglu early on in Bursa. Kovacic opened the scoring in the 20th and nabbed the second just before the break. — AP
Milestone Messi hits century for Argentina
Santiago Del Estero: Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick and surpassed 100 career goals for Argentina with three in the first half of Tuesday’s international friendly against Curacao. The World Cup winners beat the Caribbean side 7-0 in their second match since clinching the trophy in December. The 35-year-old Messi opened the scoring against Curacao in the 20th minute with a right-foot shot from the edge of the box to reach the 100-goal milestone. Nico Gonzalez added another three minutes later with a header from close range. Messi then scored his 101st for Argentina in the 33rd minute with a crossed shot to the right of the goalkeeper and his 102nd in the 37th after an easy run to score. Two minutes earlier he had assisted Enzo Fernandez’ blast from the edge of the box. AP
