‘For sure I think we’re going home’, admits Scotland boss Clarke
Scotland boss Steve Clarke admits he thinks his side are “going home” after their World Cup defeat to Brazil.
Scotland lost 3-0 to Brazil on Wednesday as a brace from Vinicius Junior and a second-half strike from Matheus Cunha sealed top spot in Group C for the Selecao.
Clarke’s side were left to rue their own mistakes, with Vinicius’ first goal coming directly from a Scott McKenna error, while Jack Hendry was reprieved by VAR after he was caught on the ball by the Real Madrid forward.
Scotland conceded 21 shots, six of which were Opta-defined big chances, while mustering just 1.04 expected goals (xG) from their 14 attempts.
They finished third in the group and are currently the seventh-best third-placed team in the competition; the top eight third-placed sides progress into the round of 32.
Clarke believes their chances of progression are over after making costly errors against Brazil.
“We created chances but it wasn’t enough. Let’s be honest the best team won,” Clarke told the BBC.
“In the first four or five minutes we passed the ball well and then made a mistake. You cannot do that at this level because it puts you on the back foot and it becomes a long night.
“For sure I think we’re going home.”
Thank you for your fantastic support in Miami this evening.#SCOBRA | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/DOV0C5hCPK
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 25, 2026
Scotland now are the only opponent Brazil have faced 11 or more times in all competitions without ever losing (W9 D2), surpassing Austria (W7 D3), while Brazil are also the only side Scotland faced five or more times without ever winning.
Captain John McGinn told the BBC: “[We’re] gutted obviously. We lose poor goals at poor times against a team that can punish you with quality.
“We had a few chances but we’ve got to wait now. The lads are gutted, we fell short on quality tonight but we gave it absolutely everything.
“The lads are empty now. It’s unlikely [to qualify] but we’ll wait and see.”
