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Steve Clarke believes Scotland are “going home” after a 3-0 defeat to Brazil in their final Group C game at the 2026 World Cup.
The Tartan Army were assured that Haiti had already been knocked out, but goals from Vinicius Junior (2) and Matthews Cunha saw their goal difference suffer a huge blow.
The top eight third-placed teams will qualify for the knockout rounds and while many points tallies may be the same, goal difference will matter.
After the game in Miami, Scotland are sixth among those standing on minus-three goal difference – although there is still plenty of football to be played.
Initial interview with Clarke BBC Sport He was cut after leaving the performance in a rage. “We made it difficult for ourselves,” he said. “We gave them the goals and the game they wanted. Disappointed.”
However, he later spoke to the broadcaster again and admitted: “I think we’re going home.”
The Scotland boss added: “We created some chances, but didn’t take them. Let’s be honest, the best team wins.
“The shift the players put in, the 90 minutes played in the heat, the humidity was outstanding. But we have to be better. If we want to compete at this level, we have to be better.
“In the first five minutes, we were moving the ball up the pitch pretty well. I thought we were settling into the game, and then we make mistakes (for Vinicius Jr.’s opener). You can’t do that at this level, because it puts you on the back foot, and then it becomes a long night.
Vinicius Jr opened the scoring for Brazil against Scotland after a mistake
“Only Scotland can get a game worth winning first and then world number five and world number six with the next two games. We’re at that level.”
Robertson: I don’t think Scotland has done enough – the wait will be awful
Andy Robertson It also struck a sour note as Scotland now faced an agonizing wait for the final group stage game.
He said BBC Sport: “Time will tell. We’ll have to take a day or two to see what happened. As a collective, we didn’t want to put ourselves in a position to expect grace. If you ask me now, I don’t think it’s enough. The next few days will be horrible.
“At certain moments, we let ourselves down tonight. At times, we were comfortable on the ball and got ourselves into dangerous areas. But against this team, we can’t afford the mistakes we were making.
Scotland’s Kieran Tierney is full-time in Miami
“We were punished for almost every mistake. When you’re 3-0 down it’s not good enough. We only have ourselves to blame.”
Robertson’s sentiments were echoed John McGinnwho says Scotland are now “unlikely” to reach the round of 32.
“You see the boys are dead,” he said BBC Sport. “We were short on quality but we gave it absolutely everything. The lads are empty. We gave ourselves a tougher chance. It’s unlikely now but we’ll see.
“They allowed us to keep the ball and at this level, if you make a mistake you can get punished. We know we have to be better. It’s raw for us at the moment but hopefully the journey is not over.”
