Scotland at World Cup 2026: Reporter notebook as Steve Clarke's side prepare for a return to the main stage

04.06.2026, 20:42 skysports.com

"Scotland's on fire, your defence is terrified".

A familiar chant from the stands, but something that had a different meaning for me at the start of my World Cup voyage.

As I sat on the tarmac at Edinburgh airport on Thursday morning, fire engines and firefighters raced towards us. The tug pushing back the aircraft had smoke billowing from it. We were assured the plane was fine, but a replacement tug was required. Could this be a sign? Will our World Cup hopes be going up in smoke again?

This time, hopefully, it is different. Us Scots usually have a mindset that something will go wrong; it always does, does it not?

Scotland, like Austria and Norway, are back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998. Football, and the world itself, has changed a lot in the last 28 years, but that eternal hope that Scotland can make their mark at a major tournament lives on.

Back in 1998, I was a secondary school pupil in Edinburgh. Football was everything; it still is. I was 13, I could barely recall the 1990 tournament. This was huge. The fact Scotland were opening the tournament in Paris against world champions Brazil took things to another level.

There was a feeling among older members of my family that it was normal service resumed. Scotland had missed out on the 1994 tournament, held in the USA, but this was the sixth World Cup out of seven that Scotland had qualified for, stretching back to 1974. It was something that was probably taken for granted.

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As an avid football follower and attendee at club games thanks to my Dad and two uncles, I thought I would be off to France, only for my uncles to knock back that request. Given I am now the age they were back then, all I will say is fair enough!

I might have been watching on TV, around 700 miles away, but it was clear to see the class we were up against. Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Cafu and Dunga were just some of the names on the other half of the pitch. After going behind early, we were counting on Jim Leighton, the oldest player at the 1998 tournament, to keep us in the game. Scotland fought back to equalise through a John Collins penalty. Scotland were going toe-to-toe with the then world champions. It wasn't to be, a Tom Boyd own goal won it for the Brazilians and summed up Scotland's luck.

Why do I mention all of the above? Well, if you are of my generation, 41 and counting, then you only ever got a small taste of it. You didn't experience the teams of the 1970s and 1980s, qualifying all the time, for the greatest show on Earth. You were aware of the past and saw only a glimpse of what it was like. Those a bit younger than me have little or no prior knowledge. It never happened to them, really. Meanwhile, those who were older had experienced the 'glory years'.

This time, we will enjoy it more, savour the experience, at home or in the USA, because there is no guarantee it will be a regular occurrence.

As a fully paid-up member of the Scotland Supporters Club, all I have ever wanted to see is Scotland qualifying for major tournaments. I was taken to Euro 96. That was me bitten by the bug.

We all remember Ryan Christie's tears of joy in his Sky Sports interview in Belgrade immediately following the penalty shoot-out win in Serbia in 2020, as Scotland finally returned to tournament football. I have to say similar emotions did go through me when Kenny McLean scored from the halfway line at Hampden Park in November against Denmark to seal World Cup qualification in the most dramatic of fashions.

That is why this tournament can be different. Scotland have broken barriers during Steve Clarke's reign, qualifying for two Euros, promotion from Nations League C to the top division (although we are currently in League B just now), and now qualifying for the World Cup.

The next ceiling to smash through is getting out of the group, but Group C will be one of the most difficult at the tournament. We have been reunited with our old friends from 1998, Brazil and Morocco. Both are in the top eight in the FIFA world rankings. Haiti is seen as the most winnable game, but we thought similar about Morocco in 1998. How did that work out? Lost 3-0 in Saint-Etienne and have never played a World Cup game since.

Back then, I watched our last World Cup game to date in Leith with my grandfather in his favourite social club. With the game going against Scotland following Craig Burley's red card, I threw my scarf on the floor. As a man of his generation and in a stern tone, he told me to pick it up and support my team to the end. I duly did and have done ever since. He passed away three years later, but it was a lesson I didn't forget. We just didn't think we would have to wait so long to see them back at the tournament again.

Following Scotland is not for the faint of heart, but when you get a moment like Serbia or Denmark, it is all worth it.

For Scotland, this World Cup could go up in a cloud of smoke, like that tug at Edinburgh airport. However, should this team change the narrative by getting out of the group, then Scotland will be on cloud nine, at their ninth World Cup.

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