Ryan Duncan and Connor Barron were on international duty on Friday night, and they helped the Scotland U21s to a 3-1 win over Hungary at Fir Park. Connor played the full 90 minutes, whilst Ryan came off the bench to win his fifth cap at this level. Kieron Bowie scored twice early on and Ben Doak added a third. It is the Scots first points of Euro 2025 qualifying campaign after they were narrowly defeated 1-0 in the opening game against Spain away from home last month. They return to Fir Park on Tuesday where they face Malta.
After the game Ryan Duncan, who has also been capped at U19, U17 and U16 level, spoke to the AFC media team:
“We are very happy. The most important thing was getting the victory, against a good team. I think the good start we made to the match, with Kieron scoring twice, put us in a very strong position for the rest of the game. I am delighted with the win, and very pleased to get on as well.
“After losing to Spain in the first game, it did not make this evening a must win, but it was important that we got our campaign up and running and hopefully we can kick on again on Tuesday against Malta. I don’t know what to expect from them, we have just been focusing on Hungary, but over the next few days we prepare properly and learn more about them.
“Getting the chance to come on, and the chance to represent your country, it is one of the best feelings in football. It is a proud moment. Although I was not on for long, I still had a job to do to help see the game out.
“It is very good for my development, coming away and training with different players, working with different coaches. You learn a lot from everyone. The standard is very high. Every player who is selected is very good. You have to be at it. You have to on it in training and also in the games.
“I room with Connor! He is good to share with. Most of the time he is sleeping! Connor is a couple of years older than me, but we have known each other for about seven or eight years. We get along really well. He has been in great form for Scotland.”
