Scotland finally got a win – they got Cristiano Ronaldo banging

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Scotland remain winless but the losing streak is over and there was a glimpse of another victory against Portugal when Cristiano Ronaldo sarcastically applauded and stormed down the tunnel at the end of that goalless draw at Hampden. Ronaldo's frustration at being denied by an older goalkeeper, 41-year-old Craig Gordon, spilled over when Portugal were prevented from taking a corner in stoppage time and referee Lawrence Visser blew his full-time whistle as Bernando Silva and Bruno Fernandes jogged to the touchline. Since Ronaldo had Visser in his ear all night, the Belgian had probably endured enough and wanted it to be over.

There were finally cheers for Steve Clarke and his beleaguered team, although many came at the expense of Ronaldo, the pantomime villain who thundered off the pitch in a fit of rage without shaking hands or applauding the Portuguese fans in the corner. In many ways, it was mission accomplished for the hosts, who held their own and failed to lose five games in a row for the first time. Gordon had an outstanding performance between the posts, as did Grant Hanley and John Souttar, who secured their clean sheet with brave performances in central defense. Even debutant Nicky Devlin, a late substitute, played his part with a brilliant block against Rafael Leao. “He got us to the point with this block,” beamed Clarke.

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The irony for Scotland, however, is that they have been weak for long stretches, worse than their previous Nations League defeats to Poland, Portugal and Croatia. Clarke's side were wasteful in possession while attempting to play through the middle third and aimless in their attempts to score long shots against an isolated Che Adams. While their resilience and defensive organization to face one of the best teams in the world was commendable, especially given the circumstances, there was little sign of a plan or idea to ease the gloom. It is now just one win in 16 for the national team. Relegation from the top division of the Nations League is still imminent.

The relief, perhaps, was that Portugal was shockingly bad, and in a very different way. Instead of a severe lack of options for Clarke given Scotland's injury crisis, it almost feels like Roberto Martinez has too much attacking talent to choose from. Martinez also refuses to distract from Ronaldo, who is at the center of his attack. It turns out that despite Ronaldo scoring in three consecutive international appearances and scoring a remarkable 133rd goal in Saturday's victory over Poland, Portugal have not learned their lesson from the rubble of Euro 2024, where a The chance of winning the cup was sacrificed by prioritizing Ronaldo, everything else was sacrificed.

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Martinez is guilty and his approach to the Portuguese star player was more encapsulated by his reaction to this tantrum. “I didn’t know,” Martinez replied, even though his captain had marched past him, huffing and puffing as he walked down the tunnel, scowling and giving a thumbs-up to the stands. In this Portuguese team, Ronaldo remains untouchable. He stuck with it until the end, even if it didn't look like he was going to score. Neither does Portugal. Bernardo Silva later said that “something was missing” from their ad. “I agree,” Martinez said. “We lacked precision in the final third.”

Unsurprisingly, Ronaldo was at the center of the action on his 200th international appearance. But it was a hard-fought, low-quality battle, best summed up by Ronaldo and Nuno Mendes botching a Portuguese free-kick 30 meters from goal while simultaneously sinking it just before goal. The 39-year-old's theatrical plea to referee Visser was accompanied by pantomime boos from the Tartan Army, which turned into jeers when he miscontrolled a diagonal pass and the ball slipped under his studs or he missed a shot on goal, which there were several.

Ronaldo also gave a glimpse of the spectacle when he suddenly jumped into the air and attempted an acrobatic bicycle kick, but it went wide and the referee awarded a free kick the other way for dangerous play. It turned out to be an evening like this for Portugal, who dominated without taking the lead. Scotland had their own veteran Gordon to thank for parrying Mendes's free-kick from an angle into the top corner. Ronaldo, meanwhile, kept firing, shooting low to Gordon from the left early on and firing a shot over the crossbar from the right just before half-time.

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However, it was Scotland who had the best chance in the first half. Clarke couldn't have dreamed of a better combination than Andy Robertson's sharp cross which found an unmarked Scott McTominay six meters from goal. The biggest surprise came when McTominay headed straight at Diogo Costa. Scotland then retreated and challenged possession either through turnovers or cheap free kicks – McTominay missed a rather rash shot and received a yellow card for a lunge on his former Manchester United team-mate Fernandes.

Portugal's opener seemed inevitable as Scotland continued to give away possession. A free-standing Ronaldo headed a golden chance over the bar after Robertson this time lost the ball as he advanced past half. Then Ben Doak was caught and Francisco Conceicao rolled over after a one-two with Ronaldo. The guests provided additional momentum with the substitution of Leao, who set up Portugal's best chance with a pass to Fernandes. However, Gordon reacted cleverly on the line and deflected the rebound to deny Ronaldo.

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Scotland didn't give Costa any problems in the second half but there were chances. McTominay's touch and drive suddenly had Portugal turning, but Ryan Christie couldn't find Robertson or Doak, both of whom were in the space to his left. A knockdown from Adams fell to McTominay, who was unable to make contact. Scotland broke through late through Anthony Ralston, but he was unable to push the cross through to McTominay, who stormed away with him. In the end a point was warranted, not that Ronaldo would agree.