Scotland at the World Cup

Scotland at the FIFA World Cup

The World Cup is the most prestigious event in international football. The finest players from the greatest teams around the globe gather and play for the chance to crowned champions of the world and lift that iconic trophy. The first event was masterminded by FIFA President Jules Rimet with 13 international teams invited to participate in a tournament in Uruguay in 1930. Other than two cancellations due to World War II, the tournament has taken place every four years since its inception, with the format now expanded to 32 teams with a two-year qualification period. The Home Nations first participated in qualifying in 1950 and since then, Scotland has played at eight FIFA World Cups with an incredible run of five consecutive tournaments between 1974 and 1990.

Switzerland 1954

Scotland had qualified for the 1950 World Cup as runners-up of the British Home Championships, but the Scottish FA declined their place on a matter of principal as the team were not champions despite the protestations of the players. Four years later, as runners up again, Scotland accepted the honour and went to Switzerland and were drawn in a group with Uruguay, Austria and Czechoslovakia. The round-robin format was not in force during this tournament and just four matches were scheduled in each group with two seeded teams playing the unseeded teams with Scotland set to play Austria and Uruguay. The first match was lost to Austria by just a single goal but that was enough for the recently-appointed manager Andy Beattie who resigned in the wake of defeat. Scotland then experienced their heaviest ever World Cup defeat with Uruguay scoring seven goals without reply. Scotland departed the tournament with no points and without scoring a goal but had joined the bigger stage of world football.

Sweden 1958

For the first time, the Home Nations played with the rest of UEFA in qualifying groups. Curiously, all four teams qualified, the only time this has happened in the history of the tournament. Dawson Walker was the manager, stepping in for Matt Busby who had suffered injuries in the Munich air disaster. Scotland took their first points at a World Cup in 1958 with a 1-1 draw against Yugoslavia with Jimmy Murray equalising after going down an early goal. The next match against Paraguay finished 3-2 with the South Americans always in front. The final game saw another defeat, this time to France by the odd goal in three. The signs of improvement were clear to see but Scotland again finished bottom of their group without a victory. It would be a 16 years before they would earn the right to test themselves again at this level again.

West Germany 1974

Scotland did not qualify during the 1960s but the wait would be worth it with an excellent showing under manager Willie Ormond. It was a team full of Scottish football legends including Danny McGrain, Billy Bremner, Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law. Scotland started the tournament in style, beating Zaire by two goals with Peter Lorimer and Joe Jordan both scoring, but bigger challenges were to come. The world champions Brazil were the next opponents and remarkably Scotland held their own against this talented team with Billy Bremner coming agonisingly close to scoring. But a 0-0 draw was well earned. That meant that Scotland needed victory against Yugoslavia to reach the next round. While they went a goal behind with just 10 minutes remaining, Jordan popped up with an equaliser with just two minutes left on the clock but that wasn’t quite enough. Scotland had only conceded one goal and were undefeated but a weaker goal difference meant they didn’t reach the next stage. Scotland were going home but the performance was anything but a failure.

Argentina 1978

Manager Ally McLeod and his team arrived in Argentina in confident mood after negotiating a tricky qualifying campaign. It was a squad abundant in talent with Kenny Dalglish, Archie Gemmill, Alan Hansen and Graeme Souness all available for selection. Scotland suffered an unexpected defeat in their opening match, losing 3-1 against Peru. The next match was an improvement with Scotland recording 1-1 draw with Iran. If Scotland could beat the Netherlands by three clear goals, they would reach the next round. Dalglish and Gemmill played their parts with three goals between them but the Dutch scored two in reply. Scotland were out on goal difference again, but had demonstrated their class by beating the eventual finalists. 

Spain 1982

Jock Stein successfully managed Scotland to the World Cup with just one defeat during the qualification campaign. It was a challenging group featuring Brazil, the Soviet Union and New Zealand, with Scotland facing the All Whites in the first match. It was a comprehensive victory with Dalglish, Wark, Robertson and Archibald all scoring although two goals were conceded. Next up it was the might of Brazil and  Scotland’s turn to concede heavily with the Brazilian’s playing with their trademark flair, putting four goals past Alan Rough. Scotland had taken the lead through David Narey’s excellent strike but that was little consolation. To qualify, Scotland had to find a way to beat the Soviet Union with a draw meaning going out on goal difference. The game finished 2-2 with more heartbreak for the Scotland supporters. Scotland took the lead with a goal by Joe Jordan but the Soviets turned the game around. Graham Souness’ late equaliser had little effect on the outcome. Although Scotland were heading home, they had scored in every game.

Mexico 1986

Legendary Scotland Manager Jock Stein had passed away having suffered a heart attack during Scotland’s qualification match against Wales. This cast a long shadow over the campaign, but a play-off against Australia had been secured and Stein’s assistant, Alex Ferguson, temporarily took charge to finish the job and take a strong Scotland squad to Mexico. After the 30,000 mile journey Scotland found themselves in a familiar place once again with a tough group of opponents in the shape of serial winners West Germany and Uruguay alongside debutants Denmark. The first game against the Denmark resulted in a 1-0 defeat with the Danes going on to win the group. In the next match against West Germany, Gordon Strachan scored a first half goal to give Scotland the lead. That didn’t last and Scotland eventually lost 2-1. Victory against Uruguay could still send Scotland through, but it was to be a battle featuring a number of ugly scenes with the South Americans losing discipline but only one player was shown a red card. Scotland were unable to break down the defence and took the long journey home with only one point and one goal to show for all their efforts. 

Italy 1990

A new decade and Scotland were at the World Cup once again, this time under the steady supervision of experienced coach Andy Roxburgh. The opening match was against Costa Rica, playing in their first World Cup, and the expectation was on Scotland to progress. It proved to be a challenging match and Scotland were beaten by a single goal. There was redemption with the second match against Sweden with Stuart McCall and Mo Johnston putting Scotland two goals up and winning the match despite a late Swedish consolation. Scotland needed a draw against Brazil to make it to the knockout stages for the first time, and with just 10 minutes to go, the game was goalless. Then came a low shot which keeper Jim Leighton couldn’t hold and Muller put it away. Scotland had come so close reaching the next round in the face of world-class opponents.

France 1998

After missing out on the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Scotland made a dramatic return accompanied by a World Cup song by Del Amitri. Craig Brown led Scotland across the English Channel for his last major finals as manager.  Scotland had the honour of playing the opening match of the tournament against the champions Brazil, who had become Scotland’s recurring World Cup nemesis. It was arguably the biggest match in Scottish football history. The stage was set and the world was watching. Scotland lost an early goal and it looked like the floodgates might open but they held on and John Collins slotted away a penalty to bring Scotland level at the break. Scotland came close but a freak own goal by Tom Boyd meant Scotland finished the match with pride, but no points. The next game was a tense 1-1 draw with Norway with Craig Burley nicking an equaliser. Scotland had to beat Morocco to go through and hope Norway didn’t beat Brazil. Scotland conceded three goals and played most of the second half with 10 men. Norway also beat Brazil recording one their most famous victories. That defeat was Scotland’s last action at a Men's World Cup to date.

Next time…

France was the last time Scotland's Men qualified for a World Cup. But the support continues and the next generation of players have the hunger to succeed. One day, the flag will fly again.