Scotland v Belarus 2026 FIFA World Cup, WM, Weltmeisterschaft, Fussball Qualifier 12/10/2025. Group C Andy Robertson of Scotland during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifier, Scotland vs Belarus, The National Stadium, Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, 12/10/2025. Hampden Park The National Stadium Glasgow Scotland Editorial use only , Copyright: xColinxPoultneyx PSI-23023-0087
Scotland football supporters face a deeply uncomfortable few days as Thomas Tuchel’s England prepare for a World Cup final in New Jersey.
The prospect of England being crowned world champions on Sunday night is something Scottish fans must somehow find a way to accept with maturity.
Rather than retreating into familiar resentment, Scottish football would be better served studying how England have reached this point and learning from it.
Tuchel’s side have already delivered everything Scotland fans wanted from Steve Clarke and his players before the tournament even began.
England embraced every challenge placed before them with a cast iron sense of belief, steadfast and secure in their ability to overcome obstacles one by one.
Scotland, by contrast, failed to give what could reasonably be described as a proper account of themselves in World Cup Group C.
If Scott McTominay had managed to channel his inner Jude Bellingham, then who knows how far Scotland might have made it through this tournament.
While Bellingham has earned his Rolls Royce status with a string of match winning moments and major game changing contributions, McTominay’s impact was paltry in comparison.
That observation is not meant as a personal dig at the Napoli man, given Scotland would not have qualified at all without his contributions.
But it does strike at the very heart of Scotland’s summer of disappointment and raises urgent questions for whoever succeeds Clarke in the dugout.
Why is it that Clarke’s most important players were seemingly unable to rise to the occasion in the same manner as England’s main men have been doing throughout this tournament?
There are deeper questions too about why Clarke could not get a great deal more than a double deflection of a goal against Haiti out of John McGinn.
Something about the Scottish psyche appears to suffocate and stifle skilled performers, making it difficult for them to operate to their usual high standards on the biggest stage.
Tuchel will have grappled with similar psychological and structural challenges despite the obvious luxury of fishing in a far deeper talent pool than Scotland possesses.
From a Scottish perspective built on sixty years of peering through the curtains, this uncomfortable England moment has always been coming eventually.
Scotland had something of a fortunate run largely because England placed its faith in a succession of managers who were not quite up to the job across multiple tournaments.
Gareth Southgate was held up and cherished as a national treasure despite consistently coming up short one tournament after the next before choosing to fall on his sword.
This current England side under Tuchel is beginning to look like a very different and far more dangerous proposition than anything Southgate assembled.
Scotland may cling to the romantic notion of watching Lionel Messi’s last dance, hoping the little man’s legs can defy time for a few more days in Atlanta.
The unpalatable truth, however, is that Messi and Argentina appear in decline while Tuchel’s young and dynamic England side continue surging impressively upward.
Off the pitch, the tournament itself has been tainted by the grandstanding of Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino, whose involvement has done little to serve the sport.
Believing the World Cup Final can be improved by an appearance from Justin Bieber merely underlines why the Trump and Infantino coalition is so widely reviled across the footballing world.
If their last act is to place the trophy in the hands of Harry Kane, perhaps this tournament will at least get the conclusion it deserves.
Scottish football can then release its baggage and begin the serious task of striving toward a very different and more ambitious looking future.
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