Clarke hails 'phenomenal' achievement after Scotland seal Euro ...

Soccer Football - Euro 2024 Qualifier - Group A - Spain v Scotland - Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville, Spain - October 12, 2023 Scotland manager Steve Clarke REUTERS/Marcelo Del Pozo/file photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Oct 16 (Reuters) - Scotland coach Steve Clarke hailed the progress his side have made after they secured a berth at next year's European Championship with two games to spare.

Spain's 1-0 win over Norway on Sunday ensured a top-two finish for Scotland in Group A, earning them automatic qualification for Euro 2024 in Germany.

Scotland have qualified for back-to-back European Championship finals for just the second time, after they played in the 1992 and 1996 editions of the tournament.

"I would like to congratulate the players for their efforts in qualifying for back-to-back tournaments," Clarke said.

"I'm not sure they will fully realise the significance of their achievement yet but to qualify for successive Euros after more than 20 years is phenomenal and testament to their hard work.

"I said after Euro 2020 that we wanted to be serial qualifiers again and reaching successive Euro finals shows the progress we've made."

Clarke said they would celebrate qualification before getting back to work with their preparations for Tuesday's friendly against France.

"Then we turn our attention to Georgia and Norway next month and finishing with as many points as we can," he added.

Captain Andy Robertson, who left the national team's camp midway through the international break after picking up a shoulder injury in a 2-0 defeat to Spain, said it was "mission accomplished".

"Euro 2020 was a great experience and the objective for us next summer is to build on that previous experience and improve on our last overall tournament performance," the defender added.

Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford

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