WORLD CUP 2026: Reality is their football is joyless, suffocated by a desire not to lose

Reality is their football is joyless, suffocated by a desire not to lose 

If Scotland scrape through it would feel hollow and devoid of romance.

There is a sense of melancholy to be found in footballing soul flicker on the periphery of a tournament it has waited so long to grace.

The Tartan Army may have turned Miami into their own sun-soaked playground over recent days, providing a backdrop of riotous colour and noise in the build-up to tonight’s World Cup clash with Brazil. As was the case in Boston last week, Scotland supporters have captured the imagination of the watching world. Yet, in terms of matters on the pitch, Scotland’s presence at this World Cup feels illusory and insubstantial. Once again, another tournament threatens to pass them by. 

Steve Clarke will, of course, dispute this. Earlier this week, he made the point the fans and media would have hammered him if he had gone gung-ho against Morocco and lost 4-0. There may be an element of truth in that, but it is also an argument of convenience. 

Nobody is asking Clarke to go gung-ho. All they ask is for him to show some ambition and set the team up in a manner where they carry some kind of threat going forward. In major tournaments, it is a balance he has yet to find. Clarke has also been at pains to make clear his game plan against Brazil will not be to park the bus and try to cling on for a draw, with a point guaranteeing Scotland a place in the knockout stage. Time will tell on that. 

But if he is to learn anything from the Morocco game, it is that Scotland are not good enough to sit back and defend for 90 minutes. In the first half, they were abysmal. It was utterly feeble. In the second half, they showed a level of improvement but still finished the match without a shot on target. When you strip it back, a World Cup is about making memories. Clarke spoke this week about looking for another David Narey moment against Brazil and one that actually counts for something tangible.