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Scotland defender Liam Palmer believes he would have made his late grandmother proud after qualifying for Euro 2020.
The Sheffield Wednesday right-back was an unused substitute in the penalty shootout win over Serbia on Thursday.
That victory sparked jubilant scenes on the pitch and in the team hotel in Belgrade, as well as homes across the whole of Scotland.
8:53 Palmer said the achievement made him reflect on how his Scottish grandmother would have marked the occasion.
The English-born defender said: “My family were quite emotional speaking to them after the game. My nan – my Scottish heritage – she’s not with us anymore but I know she’d have been proud.
“She’d have had the whole street round to her house watching. She was that kind of woman – open arms to anyone. She would’ve been proud. The family were really proud.”
Scotland’s achievement was huge. They hadn’t qualified for a major tournament since the World Cup in France 98.
1:21 They will now go into the Euros next summer in Group D, alongside England, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.
Palmer, 29, insists ending the 22 years of hurt was the driving force for the team, but they also wanted to lift the nation due to the devastating effects of coronavirus.
He added: “We all celebrated and enjoyed each other’s company in the team hotel. You saw what it meant to the country – families celebrating – we’ve all seen the videos on social media. That was the driving force for us going into the game.
“Like Ryan Christie said in his amazing interview, the emotion was there. The boys knew that after a tough year we could put a lot of joy on a lot of people’s faces. I’m just delighted the boys managed to do that.”
