Scotland's World Cup Campaign Threatened After Loss to Brazil
June 25, 2026 · Global
Scotland's World Cup hopes are in jeopardy after losing 3-0 to Brazil, and now they must wait for the results from the other groups to see if they can progress to the knockout stages.
Scotland will now have to wait until the potential early hours of Sunday to find out whether their World Cup campaign will continue, but midfielder John McGinn cast doubt on that possibility and coach Steve Clarke hinted they "will be home". Knowing that a draw would most likely be enough to reach the last 32, Steve Clarke's side suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat to Brazil, which saw them finish in third place in Group C. Scotland collected three points with a goal difference of minus three and will now have to wait until the other groups finish to find out if that is enough to claim one of the eight best third-placed team positions in the last 32. Opta estimated their chances at 42% after the game in Miami, but the mood within the team was grim after conceding three poor goals. Scott McKenna was caught in possession by Bournemouth striker Rayan, which gave Vinicius Jr the chance to score. Goalkeeper Angus Gunn and defender Nathan Patterson were also unable to anticipate Bruno Guimaraes' cross, which led to Vinicius Jr scoring the second goal before the first half ended. Mateus Cunha dari Manchester United menambah derita Skotlandia dengan gol ketiga setelah jeda. "We conceded a bad goal at the wrong time against a team that can punish you with quality," McGinn told BBC Sport. "We had a few chances, but now we can only wait. The players felt devastated, we didn't have enough quality, but we gave everything. Now the players feel empty. The possibility [of us qualifying] is impossible, but we'll see. It's still bittersweet at the moment, but we appreciate the support of the fans, we know it's difficult for them to be here. Hopefully this journey is not over and if we have to fight again, we will." Clarke berbicara dengan tegas ketika ditanya mengenai reaksi langsungnya setelah pertandingan. "Kami membuatnya sulit untuk diri kami sendiri, itu saja," ujarnya kepada BBC Sport. "Kami memberikan mereka gol, kami memberi mereka permainan yang mereka inginkan. Sangat mengecewakan." The 62-year-old, who just signed a new contract with the national team until 2030 earlier this year, later gave a slightly more in-depth interview with a similarly pessimistic tone. "The players' performance was outstanding, especially those who played for 90 minutes in that heat and humidity, they were outstanding, but we have to be better if we want to compete at this level," he said. "In the first four or five minutes we passed the ball well and then made mistakes. You can't do that at this level because it puts pressure on you and makes the night long. I'm sure we'll go home. Only Scotland can get a winnable first game, then face the fifth and sixth ranked teams in the world."