Twenty-eight years we waited. What a shame the fun lasted all of about 28 minutes.
John McGinn’s first-half goal to fire Scotland in front against Haiti on June 14 should have been the catalyst to kickstart a new, exciting chapter in the nation’s otherwise bleak World Cup story.
How naïve.
From the moment the Aston Villa captain removed his hand-made goggles, it was all downhill. Glorious failure? There has been nothing glorious about it.
The post-mortem of this brutal experience for all concerned isn’t going to be pretty. That will inevitably come over the next few days, barring a miracle.
Frankly, elimination would be a small mercy. Positive thinking, at this point, is understandably in short supply.
Lewis Ferguson’s enhanced his reputation with three excellent performances in midfield
But what other choice is there? Negativity has been done to death.
Here, Daily Mail Sport picks up the fragments of a shattered World Cup campaign in the hope of finding something — anything — to provide reason for optimism. Goodness knows we need it…
Ferguson stands tall
One man whose reputation has been enhanced rather than diminished over the past fortnight is Lewis Ferguson. He perhaps stands alone in that regard.
Given the way the Bologna midfielder has performed, it seems almost laughable to think that there were questions over whether he would even be deemed a starter in the USA. It should never have been in doubt.
In fact, even if Billy Gilmour had been fit, Ferguson’s place in the team would have been nailed-on.
When available, the 26-year-old played every minute of Scotland’s journey to reach these finals. Only a suspension ruled him out against Belarus in October.
It was the same story in the States. He doesn’t deserve to be going home this early.
While others around him toiled, Ferguson stood tall. His willingness to take responsibility shouldn’t be understated. On the ball, he barely put a foot wrong.
Off it, he was relentless. At times, particularly against Brazil, it appeared as though there were two of him scuttling around in the middle of the park. Alas, it was to no avail.
There’s no indication that skipper Andy Robertson will be retiring from international duty any time soon, especially with Kenny Dalglish’s cap tally to chase, but when that day does arrive, Scotland have a ready-made replacement in the Bologna captain.
Manager Steve Clarke should be looking to build the national team around the likes of Ferguson
He is precisely the kind of player Clarke — and, indeed, his successor — should be building the national team around.
It’s no surprise that he is once again the subject of interest from big-hitters across the continent this summer.
Reports in Italy this week suggested he could be offered to Rangers as part of a swap deal for Nicolas Raskin. Ferguson would be mad to entertain that idea.
He has the quality and character to play at the very top. His recent displays have simply confirmed it.
That can only be a good thing for Scotland.
Change in style
Yes, Scotland were toothless at the top and hopeless at the back against the Moroccans. But the general consensus at the end of that 1-0 loss to the 2022 semi-finalists was that there was also a touch of misfortune about the result.
The Scots were the better team after the break, and should have been awarded at least one penalty for a foul on McGinn. The one on Scott McTominay shortly after was more dubious.
There was a confidence in the way Clarke’s side moved the ball. Granted, things tended to fall apart in the final third, but it wasn’t for the lack of trying.
Some of the build-up play was decent. For long spells, the Moroccans — normally so cool in possession — struggled to gain a foothold.
Ben Gannon-Doak showed in flashes what he is capable of over his three appearances
In hindsight, it may have been worth reverting to a more attritional style and going long now and again. We might have gotten some joy out of it.
However, it at least made a change to see Scotland try to play their way through the opposition rather than go route one.
Fans have been crying out for a more progressive approach for years now. Admittedly, a World Cup may not have been the place to experiment with it, but there is maybe something to build on when it comes to the upcoming Nations League campaign and Euro 2028 qualifiers.
Give it to Gannon-Doak
It’s fair to say that Ben Gannon-Doak didn’t quite live up to expectations in the group phase. He wasn’t the only one, mind you.
Scotland, to be fair, rarely played to his strengths. You could count on one hand the number of times a team-mate sought to pick him out with a ball over the top.
Everything was into feet, putting all the onus on Gannon-Doak to make something happen.
He can’t be expected to do it alone though, as was the case against Haiti and Morocco — albeit briefly — and Brazil. He’s good, but not that good.
The 20-year-old’s mind hasn’t quite caught up with his feet yet. But there is a talented player in there, no doubt.
The raw materials are there for everyone to see. Going forward, we must find a way to utilise him properly or else risk seeing his talent and potential go to waste.
