Scotland have been eliminated from the World Cup after losing their final Group L match to Brazil, with Croatia’s victory confirming they cannot finish among the eight best third-placed teams required to reach the knockout stage.
It is another group-stage exit for Steve Clarke’s side, who have now appeared at nine World Cups and four European Championships without ever progressing past the first phase. Their chances had already been dented before kick-off, with results such as Ecuador’s comeback win against Germany cutting their probability of advancing to 5.26%, and Croatia’s result ultimately ended their hopes entirely.
Scotland’s tournament had begun with a historic high — John McGinn’s deflected strike against Haiti delivered the country’s first World Cup win in 36 years, backed by tens of thousands of fans who had made the trip to the United States. But that would prove to be their only goal of the tournament. A second-minute strike from Morocco, the 2022 semi-finalists, ended their second match in defeat, leaving Scotland needing a draw against Brazil in their final game to likely advance as one of the best third-placed sides.
First-half defensive errors proved their undoing. Scott McKenna was robbed of possession inside his own penalty area to gift Vinicius Jr the opener. The Real Madrid forward was denied a second when VAR ruled he had fouled Jack Hendry before rolling the ball past Angus Gunn, but just before half-time Scotland again surrendered possession near their own goal and Vinicius Jr nodded in at the back post to make it 2-0. Matheus Cunha extended Brazil’s lead after the break, and a late rally failed to produce a reply that would have improved Scotland’s goal difference.
Image credit: BBC Sport / BBC Sport
