Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie insists the squad will have a ‘chip on their shoulder’ during the World Cup after failing to fire a shot in the last two European Championship campaigns. Heading into their third major tournament under manager Steve Clarke, Scotland are eager to rectify their underwhelming displays at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
The national team failed to secure a single victory across six matches in those tournaments, with the 1-0 defeat to Hungary two years ago leaving a particularly bitter taste as they once again exited in the group stage. Christie is determined that he and his teammates will channel that frustration into a far more competitive performance this summer in the United States.
Scotland will face Curacao in a friendly at Hampden Park this afternoon before departing for the States tomorrow. They will then play Bolivia in New Jersey next weekend in another warm-up match, ahead of group-stage encounters with Haiti, Morocco, and Brazil.
‘I think we could have gone further in the last Euros,’ said Bournemouth star Christie. ‘I believe many of the lads would agree. The first game was incredibly tough against an outstanding Germany side. We had to bounce back and adopt a more conservative approach against Switzerland. That final match against Hungary was frustrating because we felt we had more to give and could have shown a better version of ourselves.’
He added: ‘That frustration lingers, but we are certainly over it now, and qualifying for this World Cup has helped us move on. However, you need to remember that feeling to prevent it from happening again. We may have let ourselves down slightly, but it serves as extra motivation and can add bite to our play. We are desperate to go there, give a good account of ourselves, be successful, and advance from the group stage. That chip on our shoulder will definitely help us heading into this World Cup, as we are eager to demonstrate just how good a team we are, especially with the world watching.’
