Scotland out of World Cup 2026: Steve Clarke’s side eliminated in group stage
Scotland, who have played in the last two European Championships, dramatically secured their place at the World Cup for the first time since 1998 with a memorable victory over Denmark at Hampden Park in November.
Supported by tens of thousands of fans traveling to the United States, John McGinn’s reactionary strike against Haiti earned the country its first victory at a World Cup in 36 years.
This would be Scotland’s only goal of the tournament.
They lost in their second game via a second-minute strike from 2022 semi-finalists Morocco, so they went into their final group game against Brazil knowing that a draw would be enough to send them out as one of the best third-placed teams.
However, defensive mistakes in the first half would be their undoing.
They conceded early once again when defender Scott McKenna was dispossessed in his own penalty area and gifted Vinicius Jr. an opening.
The Real Madrid forward was ruled out for a second when the video assistant referee (VAR) thought he had fouled Jack Hendry before rolling the ball over Angus Gunn, but before half-time Scotland again cleared the ball close to his own goal and Vinicius Jr nodded in at the back post to make it 2-0.
Matheus Cunha increased Brazil’s advantage just before half-time and a late rally failed to provide Scotland with a response to improve their goal difference.
