Scotland conceded four goals in 27 minutes of second in Moscow, while its slim hopes of automatic qualification to Euro 2020 were finally stifled by a dominant Russia. Sports fanatics from all over the world can buy Russia Euro Cup Tickets online to enjoy its stunning performances.
Steve Clarke's players resisted for nearly an hour before Artem Dzyuba joined the net. The striker raised his score to 23, the same total as the entire Scottish team, after the fierce strike of Magomed Ozdoev, Aleksandr Golovin.
Scotland took 74 minutes to score and now has three goals and lost 14 goals - in five games. They remain fifth in Group I - behind Cyprus and Kazakhstan - and can no longer rank in the top two to qualify for the final.
However, they can still qualify for their first major tournament since 1998 via the Euro 2020 play-offs, which begin in March. They had the chance to progress by winning their group of the League of Nations last year.
The men of Clarke host the group's basement on Sunday, San Marino, before ending their desperate campaign against Cyprus and Kazakhstan next month.
Scotland was rocked by a false sense of security by a passive performance of Russia for nearly an hour of this match.
There were signs during this period that the Scots might have learned from recent defeats by Russia and Belgium. But it soon became clear that the hosts were waiting for the moment, but they took revenge in 13 minutes.
Dzyuba was their chief executioner, intimidating the Scottish defense, and in particular Charlie Mulgrew, who was retained by the very active forward as he hung the first goal over his head and beyond the outstretched hand from David Marshall from the corner of Golovin.
Three minutes later, the match was almost finished when the ball came back to Ozdoev and, about thirty meters, he managed to beat the Scottish goalkeeper.
The third Russian - the second of Dzyuba - was the defense of Scotland at its worst. Mario Fernandes was heading towards the sideline, sending the ball back to the striker, who rejected Mulgrew's attempt to put it nonchalantly in the net.
It was a ruthless, almost cruel dissection of what had threatened to resemble a badly decent Scottish representation. But any positivity temporarily amassed in a scoreless first half was completely erased when Golovin's constant threat seized a fourth, shooting at Marshall and a post.
Before the game, Clarke said he was looking for maximum points in the last four qualifications, but it seemed naive because his team was torn.
Few people have criticized his appointment and his first series of matches was ungrateful, but it is difficult to exaggerate the magnitude of the task ahead to turn the fate of a team into ruins.
Golovin pushed Dzyuba to conquer the goal, but the two goals of the striker put him just in front of his teammate.
The power and skills of the 6-foot-5 attacker are a formidable combination, especially against a defense as malleable as that of the Scots. He hit the bar with another daring effort and few would have blamed him for a hat trick one night when he tormented the life of the Scottish hinterland.
Football fans can get Euro Cup Tickets through our trusted online ticketing market place. EuroTickets2020.com is the most reliable source to book Euro Cup 2020 tickets.
