[monks data]

World Cup | Qualifiers

Oct 15, 2013 at 8pm UK

Scotland
2-0
Croatia

Snodgrass (28'), Naismith (73')

FT(HT: 1-0)

Steven Naismith: 'We showed we can compete'

By Joe Fish, Reporter | 15 October 2013

Steven Naismith believes that Scotland's 2-0 win over Croatia at Hampden Park proves that they should be able to compete for qualification for major tournaments.

Goalscorer Steven Naismith believes that Scotland's 2-0 victory over Croatia at Hampden Park on Tuesday proved that they should be able to compete for major tournament qualification.

The Everton forward added to a Robert Snodgrass goal as Gordon Strachan's side beat Croatia for the second time in the campaign to secure a fourth-place finish in World Cup qualification Group A.

Strachan feels that progress is being made under his management, and Naismith agrees, suggesting that Scotland should be in a good position to challenge for a place at the 2016 European Championships.

He told Sky Sports News: "There's definitely progress being made under the new manager and it was a team performance rather than individuals.

"There were a few comments before about how long it's been since we won a competitive game and we showed that we can do it and can compete against the best.

"We'll take this into the next campaign and show that we can challenge and try and get to a major tournament."

The result was Scotland's first home win of the campaign, but they have not qualified for a major tournament since the 1998 World Cup in France.