It was another chastening night for Scotland, as their 3-0 defeat to Brazil left them on the brink of World Cup elimination.
Initially in a strong position after their win over Haiti, the defeat to Morocco, combined with results in other groups, meant that Scotland needed something from their game with the five-time winners.
The something didn’t need to be a win, or even a draw. A 1-0 defeat might have seen Scotland take a spot as one of the eight best third-placed teams.
As it’s happened, a 3-0 defeat leaves Scotland needing everything to go their way. But even if Scotland did sneak through, they would be no more than delaying the inevitable, with a likely clash with Mexico at the Azteca in store.
And that’s not to say that Scotland should harbour ambitions of winning the World Cup, but they should harbour ambitions beyond simply getting there.
Steve Clarke cut a thoroughly unimpressed figure at full-time, giving terse answers in the interviews that he actually stuck around for. Clarke was understandably unhappy, but he looked like a man who had no control over the outcome, shrugging his shoulders as if his fate had been assigned to him.
Clarke is responsible for picking the team, setting them up how he wants them to play and delivering some inspirational words of wisdom before sending them onto the field, but he no longer looks capable of any of them.
In his defence, it’s a challenge for any Scotland manager to get his players up for a game more than the national anthem does, but Clarke can’t play Flower of Scotland on a loop throughout the half-time break, yet it feels like it would be more impactful than any words Clarke has to offer, while his tactical approach continues to leave Scotland short.
Scotland are never short of effort; there’s always plenty of running and plenty of endeavour, but there’s an equal lack of quality and an apparent lack of belief.
There’s an argument that this is just what Scotland are, and maybe there aren’t any managers out there who could get more out of them, but there’s enough talent on an individual level to at least have a go at sides.
Scotland aren’t littered with stars from back to front, but there’s a Europa League-winning captain in John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson who’s been excellent in Serie A, and a Ballon d’Or nominee in Scott McTominay.
But to see Scotland roll over at two consecutive tournaments with no desire to get any better reeks of a lack of ambition.
Clarke deserves plenty of credit for getting Scotland to Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 and the 2026 World Cup, but with the expansion of both tournaments, that’s starting to feel like par for the course. Scotland found themselves 3-0 down in Greece and relied on a stunning upset as Belarus held Denmark to a draw in Copenhagen just to take things to the final game.
The 4-2 win over Denmark will live long in the memory, but these qualification campaigns that have seen wins over the likes of Denmark and Norway and Spain start to feel less significant when there’s no ambition shown at the tournament itself.
At Euro 2020, Scotland’s highlight was stopping England winning, finishing bottom of the group with one goal scored.
At Euro 2024 they were pumped by Germany, and again exited the tournament with only one Scottish player finding the net.
The win against Haiti, in what was a must-win game, gave Scotland hope, but from there they reverted to type. Scared against Morocco, they were fortunate to lose by only one, and it put them in a desperate situation against Brazil.
Being knocked out of these tournaments in the group stage is excusable depending on the circumstances, but the nature of their departures means the novelty of merely getting to tournaments will start to wear off.
The Scottish FA took the bold move of handing Clarke a new long-term contract prior to the tournament, and Clarke will hopefully lead Scotland to Euro 2028 and the 2030 World Cup.
With Scotland acting as co-hosts for Euro 2028, qualifying for the Finals is the bare minimum. Clarke should use the next qualifying cycle to build some belief in the squad, and shift the mentality from a squad of players happy to be there to one who believe they can at least compete with the best sides.
Scotland fans have had a summer to remember, but they’re not just there to make friends with the locals. After the Republic of Ireland were dumped out of Euro 2012 with a -8 goal difference, Roy Keane criticised the praise for the fans, saying: “Let’s change the attitude towards Irish supporters. They want to see the team win, let’s not kid ourselves. I know we’re a small country and we’re up against it, but let’s not just go along for the sing-song now and again.”
Four years later, Robbie Brady scored that unforgettable goal against Italy to get out of the group stage, and for the best part of an hour, Ireland were ahead against hosts France in the last 16.
Scotland have made plenty of memories off the pitch in the United States over the last couple of weeks; Clarke now needs to create some on the pitch.
