Friday night was host to one of the most exciting moments in the Tartan Army calendar- the World Cup group draw. After an extremely long and extravagant build-up, the highly anticipated draw began.
Many factors played into the groups that teams could be drawn into: teams from the same confederation could not be drawn in a group with one another, only two European teams could be in the same group, and certain teams had to be on separate pathways.
After multiple groups being passed up for Group C, due to these contingencies, it was felt in the bones of Scotland fans that we would be drawn into a group with some extremely exciting contenders. Once Scotland’s name was slowly unfurled, we entered into a group with Brazil, Morocco and subsequently Haiti.
A group of strong opponents, a group the Scots may have been hoping to avoid!
A closer examination of the Scots’ opposition
Under the management of Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil has once again become a force to be
reckoned with. After three friendlies in October, they accumulated seven points from a
possible twelve, dropping points to both Japan and Tunisia. Despite these matches holding
little importance (as they were friendlies), the Brazilians will be keen to set out their stall at
the World Cup.
The Brazilians already have a formidable history in the World Cup, having never failed to
qualify for the championship. The five-time winners have won over seventy games in the
World Cup and have only lost nineteen. With this being said, Brazil have failed to make it to
the semi-final for over 10 years, which, yes, in fairness, is only 2 World Cups, but we Scots
need something to cling onto.
Morocco, though many may feel they are opponents which could be conquered, the quality they possess within their squad is not to be underestimated. In 2022, they became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup after seeing off competition from
Portugal.
Unlike Brazil, Morocco has only competed in the World Cup since 1970, managing to qualify for six of the possible 14 World Cups in between that period. Much like Scotland, the Moroccans may be an underestimated force coming into this competition.
Haiti, on the other hand, much like Scotland, have only attended one World Cup before next year (1974). They ended their 52-year wait after qualifying through Concacaf. The Caribbean side registered three wins and one loss in this competition to propel themselves to the glory of the World Cup.
On paper, this is a team that Scotland, all things pending, should be able to bag themselves three points against. Once you have been a Scotland fan for life, the common moral is ‘expect the unexpected’, when it comes to Scotland playing football, nothing is impossible.
With the World Cup just seven months away, get the flights and hotels booked and take the palpable Scottish faith with us as Scotland go on tour to lift the World Cup. Well, that might be optimistic; however, nothing like a World Cup to embody the dreams of a nation.
I have a keen interest in sport journalism and broadcasting.
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