Scott McTominay "gives us hope" at World Cup says former Scotland star

Charlie Mulgrew has hailed Scotland talisman Scott McTominay ahead of the 2026 World Cup, claiming the Napoli man gives the nation hope.

McTominay has grown into a pivotal figure for the side over the last few years, guiding Scotland to Euro 2024 with his six goals in qualifying bettered by only Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo.

McTominay was Scotland's only goalscorer in the tournament, and Mulgrew believes the 29-year-old will be crucial to any Scottish success at the World Cup, though his preparations have been derailed somewhat this time around by a stomach bug, though it's not expected to prevent him playing against Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning.

When asked how big McTominay is for Steve Clarke's side, Mulgrew. speaking exclusively to bet365 at the talkSPORT Padel World Cup, said: "Massive. He's our big player. We've probably not had that player playing at a top level and scoring big goals and can provide something from nothing -- everyone's seen his overhead kick -- we've not had that for years. Now we've got that, we've got a bit of hope.

"In recent years, you've had Andy Robertson, showing the resilience it takes to get to that level. McTominay wasn't the player at Manchester United he is now, but that's the growth in him. He understands what it is to be a top player, he's got a great mentality."

Scotland go into the World Cup with added expectation following a disappointing Euros in which they took one point to finish bottom of their group for a second successive tournament.

"I'm excited, to be at a World Cup for the first time since 1998 is an amazing achievement and now we're there we want to compete.

"Haiti won't be as easy as people are saying but hopefully we can get a result there and give ourselves a chance to get a result against Brazil or Morocco.

"It's an honour for the players to have that expectation level, they've earned that. The last tournament I went to was disappointing, there was spells in games where we were very good but we didn't show up like we can do and hopefully the group will learn from that.

"I'd like to see Scotland press and be on the front foot and get after teams but it'll be difficult because of the heat."

Scotland go into the World Cup knowing the future of Clarke, who was awarded a new contract prior to the tournament, a decision Mulgrew agrees with.

"What Steve Clarke's done for the country, getting to three tournaments, how can you argue with it?

"There's stuff some fans aren't happy with but he's done a really good job and deserves a new contract. The other thing is I don't know how many outstanding candidates there are for Scotland."

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