Yayymes

[The Final Pass @The_FinalPass]

Haven’t used this account in a few years, but feel compelled to get some thoughts out somewhere after Scotland’s performance and result last night.

Following three poor tournament performances, it does bring the quality that has been, and is being, produced into sharp focus.

Should start by saying that Steve Clarke and the squad deserve enormous credit for three successful qualifications. As dire as the tournament performance has been, there’s no doubt they know how to be competitive in qualifying.

But one win in 9 games across three major tournaments isn’t anywhere near good enough. Four goals across those three tournaments is an even worse stat. I don’t even want to look up the total shots on target or any other metric that matters.

The fact is - Scotland haven’t been competitive in tournaments. And all that’s led to is an enormous sense of dissatisfaction from fans who have dared to dream. First World Cup in 28 years, fans travelling to an expensive host country in their thousands - all for 1 goal and three abject performances.

Clarke should carry the can for his tournament selections - both the squad and the starting teams.

No doubt there were some in-form players who missed out on the World Cup as a result of Clarke’s faith in those who got them there. That’s a fair and admirable approach by the manager, but it doesn't mean it's right. And the team selection, with hindsight, doesn't reflect well on him too. We offered little to no threat against Morocco and Brazil in particular - and as much as only scoring once against Haiti could be the death of us in this tournament, it felt like we could and should have done more with our other two matches.

That all said, the biggest question we should be asking is 'how do Scotland continue qualifying for tournaments AND compete when they get there?'

For me, it all comes down to talent - and sadly there just isn't enough being produced.

I've seen a lot of pre-tournament talk of Ferguson, Gilmour and McTominay thriving in Serie A, which isn't entirely the case. Ferguson is a solid holding midfielder in a mid-table Bologna team. Gilmour made just 8 Serie A starts all season. Only McTominay is deserving of the real pre-tournament hype when you look at his Napoli impact and what he's done for Scotland.

McGinn deserves his reputation too. He's been a top performer for Aston Villa and Scotland for years now and came into the tournament bang in form.

But beyond those named, where is the real talent?

And I'm not talking about good full-backs or talented central midfielders. Robertson/Tierney on the left and Hickey on the right represent quality full-backs. Ferguson, Gilmour, McTominay, McLean, Christie are all strong midfield options.

I'm talking about the kind of strikers and wingers that all top nations seem to have. Strikers who can lead the line alone and score goals. Wingers who can attack their man at speed with trickery. Strikers and wingers who have the pace to run the channels and stretch a game.

England probably aren't a reasonable comparison, but we'll start with them based on proximity. They have top strikers and wingers left, right and centre - they left plenty at home who would start week in week out for us.

Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, Portugal, Argentina - all have a depth of attacking options.

But they probably aren't fair comparisons given the size of those countries and their rich footballing heritage.

Dip deeper below them for nations Scotland should be competing with and you find solid teams with wingers/strikers capable of making a difference.

Here are just a few countries who find themselves, or are likely to find themselves, in the last 32:

Switzerland - Embolo, Manzambi, Vargas
Morocco - Saibari, Diaz, El Kaabi, El Khannouss, Hakimi
Ivory Coast - Diallo, Pepe, Diomande, Bonny, Adingra
Japan - Maeda, Kubo, Ueda, Doan
Sweden - Isak, Gyokeres, Elanga
Norway - Haaland, Nusa, Sorloth, Bobb, Schjelderup

The list of teams and players could go on. And with each one, you could hand pick players of that profile who would drastically improve a toothless Scotland squad.

It's even good to look at UK & Ireland teams who have performed at major tournaments in the last 20 years. Ignore England of course.

Just look at Ireland in 2002, who had a solid team built around the attacking genius of Robbie Keane and Damien Duff.

Wales in the 2016 Euros - again, a solid team with Gareth Bale providing the final third magic.

By comparison, here are the winger/striker options Scotland have:

Wingers: Gannon-Doak, Curtis and McGinn (technically a midfielder who plays in a specialised wide role for a great Villa team)
Strikers: Shankland, Adams, Dykes, Stewart

Shankland, as good as he is in Scotland, can't run. Playing him up front alone just doesn't work.

Same could be said for Dykes now. If he has players running behind and off him, he's a threat, but other than that he's anonymous in any build-up on the ground.

Adams is a lot more mobile, but nowhere near at the standard of other squads.

And Stewart, who has four caps and little to no real top-level experience at club level.

The simple fact is Scotland's squad doesn't have anywhere near enough attacking talent. And when you have a solid but unspectacular team playing to frustrate and counter, it makes it really difficult to carry any real threat.

So how do we find those players?

20/30 years ago you could look outside and it wouldn't take you long to find youngsters playing on the street. This is a simple point that is often trotted out by an older generation keen to criticise the next, but it's true. Young Scottish footballers just don't play enough.

Instead, academies (of which there are fewer than ever now) have 2/3 training nights and one game day to help develop players. Schools are no longer football only either. We do have the JD Performance Schools, but do they provide enough coverage for young talented players? Not for me.

I live around the corner from a new 5G pitch. It's effectively in the city centre and could be a hotbed for young talent. But, as I write this, it lies empty with the gates locked. I assume it's over fears of damage.

I believe there needs to be a drastic change to how young people play football in this country. It isn't enough to say 'kids don't play in the streets anymore'. For a lot of other countries, that is also the case too. Scotland needs to invest in resources to combat that.

1. More pitches - of any shape/size

We don't just need more 5G 11-a-side pitches. Give us more 5G 5-a-side, 7-a-side and 9-a-side pitches. Put them everywhere. It would be difficult, but imagine having a pitch of some shape/size within a mile of each other in every single Scottish city.

2. Lower the barrier of entry

This isn't as much about cost as it is access to facilities. As I mentioned previously, the pitches we do have can't sit under lock and key. That just isn't good enough.

These pitches should never close. If councils are worried about damage, give funding to allow passionate football people to work at them. Their job should be for the pitch to have players on it all day and all night.

3. Positional focus

Scotland has no problem developing young, talented central midfielders and full-backs.

What we have really struggled with is centre backs, wingers and strikers.

There should be a directive passed down from the SFA to find our next generation of talent that can really make the difference. Scouts incentivised on finding the players, coaches incentivised on developing that talent in the right way, clubs incentivised on giving players in those positions opportunities. I'm convinced that would bear fruit.

We could make every excuse in the world not to do the above, but the fact is Scotland has to get serious about football again and this is a place to start.

If you've made it to the end of this, well done. If you're someone who can do something about it, go do it. I know I will.

Up the Tartan Army! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[Mark Donaldson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @DonaldsonESPN]

Outstanding from @johnwalker_1986

Brazil setting a trap is common under Ancelotti, and our tactics meant we jumped straight in with both feet

[The Herald @heraldscotland]

The Tartan Army have thanked the city of Boston for its hospitality in a free full-page advert in The Herald 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇺🇸

Scotland fans made a hugely positive impression on the city, attending Boston Red Sox matches at Fenway Park, donating to charitable causes and decorating the city's statues with traffic cones.

A full-page advert in the Boston Globe thanked the visiting Scots for their contribution to the city, and the Tartan Army have been given a free full-page advert in The Herald to respond in kind.

Read the full letter 👇

[John Walker @johnwalker_1986]

Scotland: What Are We Coached?

I am sorry for the negativity but we are:
> 3rd Lowest Scorers
> 8th Lowest Shots on Target
> 27th Best Accurate Passers
> 2nd Highest xG Against

So we are a team that can't create chances, can't control games & then can't defend when we turnover the ball.

We switched to this Back-4 & it was obvious, with all the Qualification evidence that it was a huge mistake and it's been proven.

Belarus, Greece and Denmark were all able to play through our press and it hasn't changed an ounce since those games:
> Huge Distances Between Lines
> Standing Off or Man for Man Clarity
> High-Line or Block Low

The fact the same errors happening between games that were 5 days apart is the biggest concern for me.

We have been at a camp for 4-weeks now and looked genuinely, so poorly instructed/coached.

A mentality swing is required, Clarke was the man to move us forward in 2018 but he isn't the man to take us forward in 2026.

[ITV Football @itvfootball]

"They are letting down this country on a massive scale"

@IanWright0 looks at Scotland's football vision and future moving forward... 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🎙️ @markpougatch

[Proper Football @ProperFootball8]

Do you need a tray mate?

Nah, I'll be OK.

A Dutch supporter ordered 26 pints of Tennants 🍻 in a bar in Scotland on Saturday whilst watching the Netherlands 🇳🇱 take on Sweden 🇸🇪

Unbelievable effort carrying them all back to his mates!

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

😂😂😂

#Netherlands #Dutch #FIFAWorldCup2026

[Kylen Mills @KylenMills]

The beautiful game does it again. Scenes in Boston have been unbelievable as Scots & Americans unite, including a viral friendship formed after a shocking bagpipe wake up call in suburban Boston. The joy of Tartan Army is a great example for us all. ❤️⚽️
#scotland #usa🇺🇸 #boston #worldcup

[claybraham lincoln @ClayLaSoul]

I love the idea of random Red Sox fans showing up at this baseball game and being completely blown away by the popularity of a song that is very much not known stateside.

[Fitzy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @Fitzy__07]

Feeling very proud this morning

- Watching the videos of the Tartan Army taking over Boston. Kilts everywhere
- Craig Ferguson walked the length of America, raising £1m for charity
- Everyone's all buzzing for our first World cup in 28 years

It's fuckin class being Scottish

[¹⁰ @SxrgioSZN]

Who made this 😭😭😭😭

[The Parkhead Faithful @TheParkheadF]

The VAR audio has been released. Hearts and the rest of Scottish football now look like clowns. 😊

[Lint @Zeshankenzo]

The final words of the BBC on the Kilmarnock pitch invasion after Derek McInnes got them promoted,

“Absolutely brilliant scenes here at Rugby Park”

https://t.co/ZZ5PLf1Bla

[Scotland National Team @ScotlandNT]

Our Scotland. You’re an easy country to love…

#FIFAWorldCup | @FIFAWorldCup

[celticlover88 @celticlover88a]

Celtic hearts reaction clips from the pub. Maedas is Offside! I don't think I've seen this posted yet so here you go 🤣

[Craig @CraigCelt]

I can’t stop watching this clip when it blesses my timeline.

A Hearts goal still felt very possible from that free-kick. The tension inside CP was unbearable. One block, one pass, and in an instant it all turns into pure, unfiltered joy.

That’s football.

[🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🍀 @pjcfc]

There’s a fairytale about this club 🍀🏆

[Louis @LouisL_89]

More charisma in a 2 minute clip than Slot has shown all season.

[Dom✨ @footy_road]

Peak Liverpool days when that song was everywhere. It hits different now with Salah leaving