Scotland: World Cup Group Stages

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Scotland firmly established themselves as a team to be approached cautiously, as they qualified from group B with a game to spare in Brazil.



While many predicted that Scotland's time at the world cup would be short-lived, they came out all guns blazing, and blew the group, and the world's perceptions of them, wide open, with 2 wins and a draw in a group which should have been tough for them.

Final Group Standings

Brazil Crash Out of World Cup

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Scotland continued their remarkable rejuvination under the guidance of Willie Miller, sending hosts Brazil crashing out of the World Cup in a shock 1-0 win.

Before the game, nobody gave the Scots a chance, and indeed many thought that we would see a cricket scoreline, rather than a football one. The Brazilians though, had finished second in Group A, behind the Czech Republic, after a 3-2 defeat to Senegal, a 2-0 victory over Iran, and a goalless draw against the Czechs.

The Scots came out for the match with a more attacking outlook than had previously been seen in the competition, while also looking to negate the attacking power of players such as Oscar and Leandro Damiao, while Neymar and Hulk remained on the Brazilian bench. It was a plan which worked, and Scotland reaped the benefits.

After 37 minutes, some lighting-quick passing in midfield saw Scotland dangerously close to the Brazilian penalty area, where James McArthur sliced the Brazilian defence open, and Graham Dorrans lifted the ball over Jefferson to put the Scots 1-0 ahead.

The Scottish fans were by far the happier at half time, and they came very close to drowning out the home support with their rendition of 'Loch Lomond' over the break. Willie Miller kept the same side after the restart, although several players were seen warming up, including Ryan Jack and Tony Watt.

The second half was uneventful, with Scotland keeping their defence tight and snuffing out the Brazilian attacks before they could really start. The home support was clearly frustrated, booing their players off the pitch at full time, while the Scots ran straight to their fans to celebreate.

Scotland XI v Brazil

Match Facts

Scotland 1-0 Brazil
Graham Dorrans (37)
Aaron Taylor-Sinclair (7.8)