Billy Gilmour rallies Tartan Army to roar Scotland through as he'll never forget THAT hair raising Flower of Scotland

Billy Gilmour believes the Tartan Army can roar Scotland into the last 16 of Euro 2024.

The midfielder, who was terrific in the 1-1 draw against Switzerland on Wednesday night, says the fans’ rendition of Flower of Scotland pre-match in Cologne took his breath away. It was spine-tingling stuff at the RheinEnergie Stadium as the players lined up before kick-off. Now, the Brighton midfielder wants the noise cranked up another notch on Sunday for our do-or-die Group A clash with Hungary.

A victory in Stuttgart would see Steve Clarke’s side make history by reaching the knock-out phase of a major tournament for the first time ever. And Gilmour is convinced that if the players – along with the Tartan Army – replicate the performance they put in against the Swiss, they’ll achieve their dream. The 23-year-old said: “When I was walking on to the pitch on Wednesday night I could hear them signing.

“But when the national anthem came on, it just blew me away. It was unbelievable. It’s something I’ll remember forever. It was so loud – I almost said too loud, but it can NEVER be too loud. That feeling, it gets you so motivated. I was buzzing, it really gets you going. It was brilliant.

“We all know what’s at stake on Sunday. We need to win the game and we believe we can win it. We have a good enough squad to go and do it. If we do the same as we did against Switzerland, I think we’ll be on our way. Let’s do it.”

Gilmour was surprisingly left out of the opening night defeat to Germany. But he was brought back into the Scotland side by Clarke for the second game against the Swiss and he dove-tailed brilliantly with Callum McGregor in the middle of the park and also played a major role in Scott McTominay’s opening goal.

A Xherdan Shaqiri stunner denied us a win, but Clarke’s boys still have a chance of progressing. But three points against Marco Rossi’s men tomorrow night will book a last-16 tie next week.

Even a draw on Sunday could see Scotland squeeze through, albeit that is unlikely. But all Gilmour is thinking about is a historic victory – and staying at the Euros a little longer. He’s pleased to be back in the starting line-up and was satisfied with his and the team’s display in Cologne.

He says there’s a new wave of positivity amongst the squad as they prepare for the biggest game of their lives. As he looked ahead to the Hungary crunch tie on Sunday, he said: “I think it went really well on Wednesday night.

“We played more like what we are. We believed. We were aggressive, on the front foot, and got the lead with a great goal. It was some strike from Shaqiri to make it 1-1 but right up to the last minute, we were creating opportunities.

“We hit the post and there were chances in the box. We played a really good game. We’ve still got a great chance to go through now. After the Germany game we needed a big reaction from the fans because we knew we hadn’t been ourselves.

“I’m glad we got that reaction against Switzerland because it was so positive. I was happy with my own performance. It’s always nice to play and represent my country at a major tournament. So I’m really proud.”