THE Scottish invasion of Paris – or, more accurately, St. Denis, around six miles north of the city – was complete the afternoon of 10 June 1998.
In an act of national assertion akin to planting the Saltire on the pristine turf of the newly constructed Stade de France, the Scotland squad strolled the pitch clad in kilts and sporrans.
Moments later, in the curtain-raising game of the ’98 World Cup, they would be tasked with taking on reigning champions Brazil. The Selecao had edged out Italy via a penalty shootout in the USA four years earlier. Now, thanks to the emergence of a global superstar to lead their attack, they were even stronger.
How could Scotland be expected to stop Ronaldo?
"I spoke to Bobby Robson, who had Ronaldo at PSV," manager Craig Brown later told the BBC. "I asked how we stop him, and he said, 'You don't. Just don't let him get the ball.' Most of his passes came from Cafu at right-back, so I told Christian Dailly, 'If Cafu crosses the halfway line and passes to Ronaldo, you'll be sitting beside me on the bench.'"
And Scotland would have to pit themselves against world football’s most feared and revered team without two stalwarts of their 1990s line-up and two men who’d been key to Rangers' recent domestic dominance. Goalkeeper Andy Goram elected to drop out of the squad for personal reasons – replaced in the starting XI by Jim Leighton, who’d celebrate his 40th birthday the next month – and striker Ally McCoist had been devastated to learn that he wasn’t among Brown’s 23-man selection for the tournament in France.
"It's with great regret with hindsight that I made that decision. It rankles with me," Brown has since said of dropping McCoist, who was 35 at the time and had just scored 16 goals in his final season with Rangers. “He knows it and I know it. I've got to accept it and live with it I'm afraid."
This was still a Scotland team with considerable talent amid its ranks, though. Kevin Gallacher was coming off a 20-goal season with Blackburn Rovers, where centre-back Colin Hendry remained a fearsome defensive presence after helping the Lancashire club to the 1994-95 Premier League title. Midfielder Paul Lambert had earned a Champions League winner’s medal with Borussia Dortmund just a year earlier and Craig Burley had just been one of the stars of Celtic’s first title in a decade.
And, of course, there was John Collins, the classy midfielder whose two years with Monaco – which included a 1997 Ligue 1 title triumph – had accustomed him to the French summer sun.
But shortly after kick-off, the mammoth task that Scotland faced was laid bare. Cesar Sampaio crashed home a near-post header to give Brazil a 1-0 lead after just five minutes.
Remarkably, though, Scotland settled into the game and began to frustrated their famous foes. Ronaldo was kept quiet and, after Gallacher was fouled inside the box, John Collins calmly rolled a 38th-minute penalty onto the bottom corner of Claudio Taffarel’s goal to level the score.
The Scottish resistance was only broken 13 minutes from full time, when a Leighton save collided against the unfortunate Tom Boyd for a game-clinching own goal.
At France 98 the Scotland players wore kilts pre-match#SCO #SCOCZE pic.twitter.com/IiUrVVUbYZ
— Old Days Football (@OldDaysFootball) June 14, 2021
Having performed admirably against Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos et al, Scotland then earned a well-deserved point in their second game. A drab encounter with Norway ended 1-1 after Burley’s second-half goal cancelled out Haavard Flo’s earlier strike.
That meant that, with Brazil already assured of top sport in the group after winning both their two games, Scotland’s hopes of progress to the knockout rounds depended on their final group game against Morocco – and the likelihood that Brazil would beat Norway.
It wasn’t to be. Burley was sent off early in the second half and Scotland were beaten 3-0 by a vibrant Morocco team that included soon-to-be-Premier League imports Mustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo.
“It could sound like I am complaining but I really have no need to,” Brown reflected in a recent interview with The Guardian. “Every statistic, apart from goals, favours Scotland. We had more possession in both halves – and played most of the second with 10 men – more shots on goal, more shots on target, more corner kicks. Then I read words like ‘humiliation’, which was quite annoying.
“The bottom line is they beat us 3-0. I understand that. You don’t win the game with possession or shots at goal. But if there ever was an unfair result, that was it. If anyone speaks of ‘humiliation’ they either weren’t at the game or don’t understand football.”
In the end, the Morocco result was immaterial. Brazil, their progress already assured, took their foot off the pedal in the other game. Norway, thanks to two goals in the last 10 minutes, won 2-1 to clinch second spot and a place in the last 16.
Scottish band Del Amitri recorded a song for the tournament that rang equal parts lamenting and hopeful, entitled “Don’t Come Home Too Soon”. Although Scotland had acquitted themselves well in France, they were heading home at the earliest possible juncture. And so began a 23-year wait for major-tournament qualification.
