Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Andy McGilvray

Rangers hero Ally McCoist says France 98 World Cup snub hurts 'every day'

Rangers hero Ally McCoist admits he was in tears after being left out of Scotland's squad for the 1998 France World Cup, and says the snub is something he thinks about every single day.

The prolific striker had left Rangers after 15 years, having been their record goal-scorer, and scored in his final appearance for the Ibrox side in their 2-1 Scottish Cup defeat to Hearts in 1998.

But although McCoist, from East Kilbride, had scored 16 goals that season as Rangers finished the season without a trophy, it wasn't enough to see him on the plane to France, with his team-mate Gordon Durie, and Celtic duo Simon Donnelly and Darren Jackson instead amongst Craig Brown's 22-man squad.

Reflecting on England star Harry Kane's penalty miss that contributed to a 2-1 quarter-final defeat against holders France at the Qatar World Cup, McCoist says that omission 24 years ago still hurts, and reckons the Spurts striker's spot-kick failure will haunt him for some time to come.

McCoist says Harry Kane will think about his penalty miss for England for years to come (Getty Images)

The TalkSport presenter said: "It's the worst I've ever felt in football. The worst I've felt by an absolute mile. I was in tears.

"You realise there are far more important things - and there are - but at that time that was the most important thing, and it's the worst I've ever felt in football by some considerable distance.

"I knew I should have gone, 100 per cent I should have gone.

McCoist says he knows Scotland boss Craig Brown (right) should have picked him (Daily Record)

"You're talking to me and we're having this discussion and I've said Harry Kane will think about that penalty for the next five years.

"I think about not going to the World Cup in France every day. Every day, honestly."

Follow Lanarkshire Live Sport on Twitter via @LanLiveSport, like us on Facebook or find us on Instagram for the latest sports news, pictures and video.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.