Strait-jacketed Scotland spare us the agony

Well, at least we didn’t have to go through the wringer like the poor Iranians.

Team Melli were all set for a place in the last 32 when Sasa Kalajdzic’s 96th-minute equaliser for Austria against Algeria denied them it, the cruellest of blows for a side that had already been through plenty.

No, we didn’t have to endure that. Scotland’s agonising 2026 World Cup campaign did not involve such highs and lows. There was never any danger of that with tournament-mode Steve Clarke at the helm.

It was more protracted and drawn out, a slow but inexorable death as hope gradually gave way to the realisation that this was not to be the year of deliverance, that the nation’s unwanted record as the most perennial of non-qualifiers would be extended to nine World Cups.

Nine! Just let that sink in.

Those who had believed in a late change in the script against Brazil in the 30-degree heat of Miami were hoping in vain, their delusions quickly exposed when Vinicius Jr was presented with his gift-wrapped opener. There was no way back from that, not in those steamy conditions and against that opposition.

“No wonder everyone loves the Scots.”

Then came the wait for results in other groups, a game of diminishing percentage chances of progressing to the knockout rounds as one of the eight best third-placed teams: 42% after defeat to Brazil, then 5.26%, 0.07% and, finally, a big fat zero.

Scotland’s best hope of securing a place in the last 32 after the laboured, nervy opening win over Haiti had come against Morocco. But Clarke’s conservativism meant the opportunity was missed, his players too inhibited by the tactical strait-jacket fitted on them to seize the moment.

A notable feature of this World Cup has been unfancied teams throwing caution to the wind and men forward in the hope of securing valuable points and a slot in the knockout stages. That Scotland were not among them is the fault solely of the coach, who has at least seen fit to fall on his sword, thus protecting what remains of his legacy: three successful qualification campaigns out of four and an unexpected rise from the wreckage of that most humiliating of defeats in Kazakhstan.

For that we are grateful, but not for the rest. Caution undid Scotland against Hungary two years ago and it has accounted for them on the biggest stage yet again. Whatever some pundits may say, Scotland’s failure on this occasion, or on any other for that matter, is not down to a lack of quality. Sure, we don’t have a Vinicius Jr or a Haaland, but is anyone seriously suggesting that the current crop of players is not the match of some of the teams that remain in the competition?

And for those who point to the difficulty of the group and use that as an excuse, just ask yourselves if tournament debutants Cape Verde faced any less of a task in a section that featured Spain and Uruguay.

“Come on Scotland, you can do it too.”

Whoever takes over from Clarke has to contend with the mental block imposed by decades of major-tournament failure (add four Euros to those nine World Cups) and somehow enable the players to perform without fear when the chance presents itself again. The ends may justify the means in qualifying, but it is clear that when the big tournaments come around, caution has to be dispensed with, at least on occasion, and opportunities gone for.

The example for the national team to follow is staring it right in the face: its own fans, who took Boston, Miami and the World Cup by storm with their exuberance, bonhomie and sheer confidence that opposition fans and locals alike would fall in love with them, literally so, if some social media accounts are to be believed.

If the national team could tap into some of that, could perform with the same swagger as the pipers that led the Tartan Army to Fenway Park and onto Miami Beach, it might finally be on to something and we might finally be able to keep the flags up in our windows for longer than a fortnight.

We shall pipe them on the beaches…