A poor campaign, which included a humiliating 5–0 defeat away against Portugal in April 1993, saw Scotland slump to fourth place in their group and fail to qualify.[1][37] The match against Portugal was Goram's last Scotland appearance for almost a year due to him undergoing knee surgery and a lengthy return to fitness.[3][36] He returned to the side in March 1994, playing in a friendly against The Netherlands, and played in a 2–0 win away against Finland on 7 September 1994 in the opening qualifying tie for Euro 1996.[36] Goram kept his place in the side and played in Scotland's next three qualifying ties.[36] However, in August 1995 days before a qualifying match against Greece, Goram withdrew from the squad stating that he was not "mentally attuned" to play.[38] Jim Leighton played against Greece and kept his place in the team for the remaining two qualifying matches, although Goram did play for the last 17 minutes of a friendly match against Sweden in between those final two ties.[39]