Scotland stands eighth in ⁠the rankings of the third-placed teams in the 12 FIFA World Cup 2026 groups, from which the top eight will progress to the round of 32. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Former captain Craig Burley ​said Scotland advancing to the knockout stages at the FIFA ⁠World Cup 2026 would be a “reward for mediocrity” after it conceded four goals and scored none in losing its final two group games.

After the 3-0 ‌loss to Brazil in Miami on Wednesday, Scotland faces an anxious wait to see if the three points it earned for beating Haiti in its tournament opener will be ‌enough ⁠to keep it in North America.

Scotland stands eighth in ⁠the rankings of the third-placed teams in the 12 World Cup groups, from which the top eight will progress to the round of 32.

“I have no ​problem with Scotland going out ... ‌because I’m sorry ... but we’ll just be rewarding complete mediocrity here, and they don’t really deserve to go through if we’re being honest,” Burley said on ESPN.

“I don’t think they will ‌, barring getting lucky, and in fact, if they do go ​through, I think it’s just going to continue the sort of embarrassment of looking like what Scotland are. It’s ⁠kind of second-rate, isn’t it? They just don’t have the players. If they go through, fine, but there should be no ‌celebration of this as the first-ever Scotland team to qualify for the group stage, because it’s just really by default,” he added.

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Burley, who played 46 internationals between 1995 and 2003, bemoaned the quality of players available to coach Steve Clarke, comparing it unfavourably to the era of his fellow pundit Steve Nicol.

Former Liverpool full-back ‌Nicol, who played for Scotland in the 1980s alongside the likes of Kenny ​Dalglish and Graeme Souness, agreed.

“Just the quality that that group of players has, whether it’s Scotland or anybody else, ⁠shouldn’t be going forward in the World Cup,” he said.

“A World ⁠Cup is supposed to be the elite. It’s the medal that every single player wants to win more than any ‌other, regardless of what country you play in. And it’s being devalued when certain teams are going to ​be going through who just don’t deserve to be there,” he added.

Published on Jun 26, 2026