No matter how all of this unfolds for Scotland across the coming days, nothing will ever be quite the same again for so many of those individuals at the heart of it.
The World Cup shapes perceptions and forges reputations. It has the capacity to elevate players to the status of on-field lieutenants. Just ask Lewis Ferguson.
So often a peripheral figure in his early days under Steve Clarke, the importance of the Bologna man grew in the qualifiers. He’s now been central to everything that’s been good about the team in Boston.
One of only five outfield players to play every minute against Haiti and Morocco, it now seems safe to bracket the 26-year-old in the core of the side along with Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and John McGinn.
This has long felt possible, yet it’s never felt inevitable. The crucial ligament injury the midfielder sustained on the eve of Euro 2024 cast doubts over whether he’d ever edge his way to the front of the queue in an area where Clarke isn’t exactly short of options.
Lewis Ferguson keeps a close eye on Morocco superstar Brahim Diaz
Ferguson’s patience and inner belief have taken him there. And after two stellar displays on the greatest stage of all, he’s clearly now going nowhere.
‘It makes you feel good,’ he said of the successive starts. ‘But it’s just the process.
‘I came into the squad when I was 20, 21. It’s just the natural progression. You come in as a young player and it’s a level up. I was at Aberdeen at the time when I got my first call up and my first cap. It’s a level up when you go into training with these lads.
‘We’re talking about boys who are playing at the top level. It’s just that natural progression in a Scotland shirt. It’s path I felt I was getting to probably just before the Euros and then I got injured so that set me back a wee bit.’
Clarke isn’t often given to name-checking individuals, but he’s made an exception for Ferguson out here.
His instinctive reading of the game and effective use of the ball have been conspicuous in both matches.
Although not always recognised for doing the unglamorous side of the game, by common consent, he’s been the side’s best performer to this point.
‘I’m really happy,’ he added. ‘I feel really good physically. I feel really good within the team.
‘I just want to show the best version of myself in a Scotland shirt. I think probably this qualification process for the World Cup was the time where I really felt I had the biggest input from myself in a Scotland shirt.
Lewis Ferguson takes the acclaim of the Tartan Army after the match
‘I feel I’ve done pretty well, and I just wanted to carry that momentum into these games here. We’re on the world stage, everybody’s watching so you want to perform as best you can.’
While the mental pain of missing out in Germany will always linger, this has been quite the cathartic experience.
Walking out twice into the pulsating Boston Stadium with the world watching on, Ferguson was momentarily brought back to his formative years growing up in Lanarkshire.
‘It’s every kid’s dream to pull on a Scotland shirt first and foremost,’ he said.
‘To go and represent your country at the World Cup is something I’ll never forget. It’s been so, so special. It’s been a dream come true for me.
‘To all the young kids, boys and girls, I was once one of them growing up and dreaming of playing for Scotland and in a World Cup, and here I am today.’
It’s all about to get faintly surreal. On Wednesday, Scotland will take on Brazil in Miami seeking the positive result which should take them to the knock-out round of the World Cup for the first time.
For all concerned, it simply does not get any better or bigger.
Ferguson is confident ahead of Scotland’s final Group C match against Brazil
Strip away the glitz and the glamour, the sunshine and the samba bands, though, and it is just a game of football. Carlo Ancelotti’s side may have five-stars on the famous canary yellow jersey and superstars in their ranks, but they are only human too.
If ever the old wisdom about playing the game rather than the occasion comes to the fore, in Ferguson’s view, this must be it.
‘It’s massive,’ he said. ‘But I feel quite confident about it just because of the way we’ve played in the last couple of games.
‘Although we lost against Morocco, I’ve still got a feeling of pride just about the way we’ve performed.
‘It gives us a lot of confidence. Again, we’re going up against a top-level side with superstars in the team. This is the level that we’re competing at.
Scotland players applaud the Tartan Army after Friday’s defeat to Morocco
‘I think we showed our worth in the Morocco game. They’re sixth in the world for a reason.
‘They are a top-level team and we just took the game to them which I think shows the quality, the desire, that sort of team spirit.
‘We’ll beat anybody for team spirit in this World Cup. I don’t care who’s more talented. That sort of grit and desire to go and try to get something from the game was absolutely excellent. We’ll take a hell of a lot of positives going into the next game.
‘The main thing about football is winning. That’s what gets you the points necessary to get through. We will do absolutely everything to try and get as many points as possible.’
On Friday, after an appalling start, Clarke’s men dusted themselves down and were pressing for an equaliser as the clock wound down.
They could have had two penalties and faced 10 men for most of the match. They were right to feel aggrieved that no marginal call went their way.
It was a defeat with merit. While no side can be happy about losing a match, the nature of the reverse offered a substantial number of positives ahead of Wednesday’s date with destiny in Florida.
‘We didn’t plan to start in that sort of manner and it’s really unlike us to do that,’ Ferguson reflected of the loss of a goal on 70 seconds.
‘But I thought the reaction was really good. We started to grow into the game. ‘We started to keep the ball a lot more and played forward. And the desire to go and try to get something from the game was incredible.
‘I thought the performance in the second half was brilliant, the desire, the quality, everything. We had everything apart from the goal.
‘I thought the performance didn’t match the result, if I’m honest.’
