THERE are not many areas where Scottish football leads the world.
The game in this country lags far behind larger nations when it comes to the value of their broadcasting deals, the number of people who attend matches and the technical expertise of their players.
But when it comes to failing when success is tantalisingly within grasp we have long been global leaders.
Scotland will make history here in Stuttgart this evening if they defeat Hungary in their final Euro 2024 group match and qualify for the knockout rounds of a major tournament for the first time.
The national team, though, have been in this situation on numerous occasions in the past and each time they have somehow contrived to snatch crushing disappointment from the jaws of glory.
In fact, this is the 11th time they have had the opportunity to progress at this juncture in a World Cup or European Championship and it is the 12th finals they have been involved in.
Some of their near misses have been excruciating. At Euro ’96 they were, after Ally McCoist had rifled in a piledriver against Switzerland at Villa Park, just 13 minutes away from the quarter-finals. Alas, the Netherlands, who were losing 4-0 to England at Wembley at the time, then netted.
Goal difference has proved their undoing many times as well. They beat Zaire and drew with Brazil and Yugoslavia in the World Cup in West Germany in 1974. But because Yugoslavia fired nine past Zaire they went home. There were similar tales of woe in Argentina in 1978, Spain in 1982 and Italy in 1990.
Yes, when it comes to raising the hopes of the entire population and then cruelly dashing them at the death there really is nobody quite like us.
Thos past traumas, though, do not stop the Tartan Army, hundreds of thousands of whom have travelled to Germany to cheer on their brave boys, from daring to dream. When the match in the MHPArena gets underway at nine o’clock this evening, hope will still spring eternal among their supporters.
So why will it be any different this time around? There are justifiable reasons for the optimism after the improved collective display in the Group A encounter with Switzerland in the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne on Wednesday evening. There were glimpses of the form which Andy Robertson and his team mates showed in qualifying.
Angus Gunn, who had let five past him in the opening day annihilation at the hands of Germany in the Allianz Arena in Munich five days earlier, produced three vital saves to help his adopted homeland secure a 1-1 draw.
Ahead of him, centre-half Grant Hanley, who had only come in because of the two game suspension that Ryan Porteous had picked up in Bavaria for his two-footed foul on ilkay Gundogan, was commanding in the middle of the three man defence. He was only denied the winner by the width of the left post in the second-half after he got on the end of a Robertson free-kick.
His skipper led by example and did well to get upfield and help set up the opening goal. Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay dovetailed nicely in central midfield. John McGinn, Scott McTominay and Che Adams were far more like their normal selves.
But there is, importantly, a realisation within the squad that further improvement is required, that a few rough edges still need to be smoothed off, for a famous victory is to be recorded over Marco Rossi’s men.
Can they do that without Kieran Tierney? The defender has had to return home to have his fitness assessed by Arsenal after being stretchered off in midweek. His tournament is, even if Scotland go through, over. He is a huge loss.
Will Scott McKenna or Liam Cooper be able to fill the void he has left on the left side of the three man rearguard? They are both experienced internationalists, but neither man offers as much going forward.
Steve Clarke might be tempted, as he has done in the past whenever Tierney and Robertson have been unavailable, to change to a back four and deploy a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 formation. Doing so enabled his charges to put two disappointing results behind them and secure promotion to the Nations League A League two years ago.
Will Clarke be prepared to change his system in such an important game? Watch this space. But doing so might help Anthony Ralston. The Celtic man, who has not been a regular starter at Parkhead in the past 10 months, has toiled in Germany. It was his underhit pass which led to the Switzerland equaliser.
Ralston might be more comfortable and influential if Scotland move to the set-up which he is more familiar with. It would, though, be a huge call given what is at stake. This is where his manager earns his corn.
Much depends on which Hungary turns up. Will it be the side which rolled back the years and spanked England 4-0 at Molineux in the Nations League in 2022 and then followed that up with a 1-0 triumph over Germany in Leipzig?
Or will it be the team which lost 2-1 to the Republic of Ireland in their warm-up friendly in Dublin earlier this month and failed to fire on all cylinders for the full 90 minutes in their first two Group A games.
Dominik Szoboszlai, the Liverpool midfielder who moved to Anfield in a £60m transfer from RB Leipzig last year and is by far and away their star performer, and his compatriots are hurting like hell and determined to give their fans, who have also travelled here in their droves, a performance and a result to cheer.
Scotland came up short three years ago when they lost 3-1 to Russia 2018 finalists Croatia, Dejan Lovren, Luca Modric, Ivan Perisic et al, in their final group game at Hampden. However, Covid-19 social distancing restrictions were still in place at that time and they were cheered on by a crowd of just 12,000 in the 52,000 capacity stadium.
They will not be short of support tonight. Viewers of German news channel RTL voted the Tartan Army the best fans of the tournament yesterday. They picked up 52 per cent of the votes cast in an online poll. And little wonder. They have been absolutely phenomenal. They will make their presence felt in an arena which holds 55,000.
Assistant manager John Carver spoke to the media at Scotland’s training base in Garmisch-Partenkirchen near the Austrian border on Friday and stated that he believed the experience which players like Jack Hendry, Hanley, Robertson, Gilmour, McGregor, McTominay, McGinn and Adams gained of tournament football in 2021 and the vocal backing they will get will help them go one better here.
“Last time around it wasn’t a proper tournament,” he said. “This has got a different feel to it for sure. You can see from the reaction of the fans. Listen, I remember from watching as a kid what you were like.
“The Tartan Army always used to go and enjoy themselves with no trouble and that’s why there’s no party without them. But to see them live and be in amongst it now is quite incredible.
“I was so pleased for them on Wednesday because they got something back. We got a bit of pride back and the players got a bit of pride back because we were all hurting after losing to a top, top side (Germany) who are going to go close.
“What we are asking for is the same again plus more, not only from our players, but also from our fans. It makes a difference, it does make a difference. It’s not a cliché, it really does make a difference.”
Hopefully this time Scotland will finally deliver. Hopefully this time that little bit of luck that is required goes their way and not against them. Hopefully this time they will be dancing in the streets from Langholm to Lerwick when the final whistle blow instead of drowning their sorrows. Hopefully this time their fans will not return home with “tears for souvenirs”. Hopefully this time.
