Scotland vs. Brazil: How the Tartan Army's World Cup 2026 hopes were damaged before Vinicius Junior and Carlo Ancelotti

Scotland's dreams of reaching the knockouts at World Cup 2026 took a serious blow on Wednesday night, when they were hammered 3-0 by Brazil in Miami.

The fans following the Tartan Army have been celebrated for bringing the party wherever they have travelled during the group stage, but they are now likely to be heading home due to their team's lacklustre goal-difference.

Opta have given Steve Clarke's side a 49.2% chance of reaching the round of 32 as one of the eight best third-placed nations, and the overriding feeling is that Scotland will not get another run out at this summer's tournament.

Here, after the Tartan Army were beaten by Brazil, Sports Mole takes a look at the ways in which their nervous wait - and potential exit from the World Cup - were self-inflicted, even before Wednesday's loss.

Haiti 0-1 Scotland: Historic but costly World Cup opener

World Cup 2026 marks Scotland's first appearance in the finals since France 1998, and the country's opener against Haiti was rightly treated as a momentous occasion as a result.

However, the team's performance against a side ranked almost 40 places below them by FIFA (83 vs. 42) was far from worthy of the celebrations that followed.

The Tartan Army may have taken all three points on matchday one, but now that their fate is set to be decided by goal-difference, winning only 1-0 against Haiti could be the reason they fail to progress.

Clarke's men mustered 1.05 expected goals against Les Grenadiers, who generated 1.04 while also having marginally more possession and taking six more shots.

For all of their struggles against Brazil, the goals they conceded could have been offset by a better showing at Boston Stadium, but Haiti unexpectedly matched Scotland blow for blow, and were let down by some poor finishing.

Scotland 0-3 Brazil: Individual errors leave Tartan Army in World Cup limbo

Scotland did not need to beat Brazil to reach the round of 32, but conceding three without reply has left them on the brink of elimination.

Much was made of the Tartan Army's mentality ahead of the game, particularly around them focusing on going for the win rather than settling for a draw.

However, several lapses in concentration early in the contest proved costly, as both Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry were caught in possession.

The former's mistake led directly to Vinicius Junior's opener with just seven minutes on the clock, though the latter's blushes were spared when a questionable VAR review deemed that the Real Madrid winger fouled the defender when stealing the ball, and ruled out his goal as a result.

A two-goal deficit would not have been ideal for Scotland, but Matheus Cunha's third on Wednesday night reduced their chances of progressing to the round of 32 from 66.8% to under 50%.

In truth, Carlo Ancelotti's Selecao should have scored more, but Vinicius missed a number of opportunities to secure his hat-trick, while others were saved by Angus Gunn, so perhaps Scotland should be thankful that things were not worse - even if they face an anxious wait.

Scotland's key players have not turned up at World Cup 2026

Scotland do not boast one of the stronger squads at the World Cup, and are devoid of a star attacker to make the difference up top, but their best players have not performed to their maximum this summer.

For example, Andrew Robertson is the most decorated player in the 26-man group, and while he created his team's only big chance during their 1-0 loss against Morocco, he struggled against Haiti and was ineffectual against Brazil before coming off with an injury at half time.

Likewise, Scott McTominay has been a fixture for Napoli since making the switch to Serie A, and he was famously named player of the year in the Italian top flight in 2025.

The former Manchester United midfielder has also been vital for his country, scoring an iconic bicycle kick against Denmark back in November to help Scotland qualify for the World Cup, as well as a brace against Spain en route to Euro 2024.

All that said, McTominay has had a negligible impact on the Tartan Army's tournament so far, coming closest to getting his name on the scoresheet when he hit the post in the opener against Haiti.

It would be fair to say that the key figures in Clarke's squad were instrumental in qualifying for a historic World Cup in North America, but upon arrival, they have been far from impressive.