It is a conversation in Milan that should resonate in Massachusetts. Italy’s failure to qualify for another World Cup has triggered harsh assessment of Serie A, including why there is a shortage of home players making sufficient impact there. The success of imports, whose talent level is marginally above average, supposedly says much about decline within the Italian game.
It would be harsh to place Scott McTominay in that category. The sharpness of the 29-year-old’s career trajectory since leaving Manchester United for Napoli depicts a player who was underappreciated at the club of his youth and early professional years. McTominay left Manchester with a point to prove and did so with bells on, courtesy of a title win and the label of Serie A’s most valuable player in 2025. Should McTominay choose to leave Naples, where he is adored, he will not be short of Premier League options.
You need only walk in the vicinity of Hampden Park to learn of McTominay’s standing as a Scotland player. Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law have never been depicted on portraits on the gable end of terraced flats close to the national stadium. McTominay, a player born in England, produced such an iconic moment against Denmark last November that it will sit as an artistic reference point for ever more.
That game pretty much summed up Scotland’s path to this World Cup. It was a fixture in which Denmark were undeniably the stronger team for long spells. Greece were superior in Glasgow yet lost 3-1. Scotland lost in Athens and stumbled past Belarus. There were high points, of course, in a campaign that ended Scotland’s 28-year World Cup wait, but also elements of oddity. McTominay’s overhead kick was one of three extraordinary goals as the 10-man Danes were beaten 4-2. Searching for clusters of excellent Scotland displays in recent competitive matches is not particularly easy. Whisper it, but the same applies directly to McTominay.
History and the lack of emerging talent in Scotland suggests this could be McTominay’s World Cup chance. If not, it is surely his best. Likewise the 31-year-old John McGinn, 32-year-old Andy Robertson and Ché Adams, who is 29. The motivation for this experienced group to make an impact on football’s biggest stage must be huge. It should work in Scotland’s favour.
Perhaps McTominay feels he has no more questions to answer. Watching him toil as Scotland squeezed past Haiti actually raised plenty of them. For Scots it brought back ominous memories of 2024 and a European Championship where team failure owed plenty to the underperformance of star turns. When Scotland face Morocco in the Boston Stadium on Friday, hope rests heavily on McTominay’s shoulders.
Steve Clarke understandably bristles at the notion of McTominay as different from any other player. The 62-year-old has taken Scotland to three tournaments while building a club ethos. Players look along to teammates in the dressing room rather than up or down. It is, though, impossible to ignore McTominay’s status among a squad which has plenty of decent members and precious few of elite level.
“Scott is one of our key players,” said Clarke. “I am lucky, I have got a lot of key players. Andy Robertson, John McGinn. For me Grant Hanley, Kenny McLean, people like that. We have built a really good squad over the years.
“Scott gets a lot of headlines but he is also the first to understand that without the help of his teammates it is more difficult for him to be that talisman. If he can be a talisman against Morocco, then that would be great. As a coach I am very reluctant to go on about individuals. Everything we have built has been our squad.”
Hope springs from the likelihood that McTominay will be afforded more time and space against Morocco than he did against Haiti, who swarmed around him. In fairness to McTominay, his quiet game did include the striking of a post. His lead-up had also been disrupted by an upset stomach.
“I think the Haiti game was a struggle for a lot of the players, not just Scott,” said Clarke. “I thought Haiti controlled our midfield very well so you have to give credit to them. Sometimes you don’t get the chance to bring your attributes to the game because of what the opposition do. I think that might have been the case the other night. Scott is in a good place and ready to go again.”
If Clarke, as is expected, reverts to a lone striker there will be heavy reliance on midfielders to provide goal threat. Scottish chances will come at a premium against a side ranked sixth in the world. McTominay, who has found the net a credible 15 times in 71 Scotland appearances, will need to be at his ruthless best.
Clarke used pre-match media duties on Thursday to rave about Morocco’s individual and collective abilities. Scotland’s hopes of causing the latest upset in this riveting tournament rely heavily on their difference maker. Now has to be McTominay’s time.