As the pubs and public of Boston will attest, Scotland made a good impression at the 2026 World Cup. Unfortunately, good impressions created by jocose and jovial patrons within a given city’s watering holes do not translate into good results on the field. While everyone loves a lush in a kilt with a traffic cone on his head, some fans feel that bagpipes, good cheer and whisky are an easy distraction from sporting deficits that reflect the long-term demise of Scottish soccer.
“No Scotland, no party!” sang the supporters at the Scotland vs. Switzerland Nations League match-up at Hampden Park in Glasgow last week. Unfortunately, the supporters were Swiss, a tiny minority of those in attendance, but far louder than the home following. Switzerland was 3-0 up, and hijacking Scotland’s theme song to highlight the host’s no-show. The defeat was not just down to the early red card handed out to Scotland’s central defender Jack Hendry, caught out for pace and forced to foul his swift opponent, Dan Ndoye. It was down to a severe lack of technical ability and a dearth of creative ideas that saw the home team fail to create a single scoring chance. Scotland was flattered by the three-goal deficit.
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