⚽ The Saturday Kick-Off #20 - Scotland at World Cups
Over Tuesday night yet? With the draw in two weeks, lets take a look back at who Scotland have faced at previous men's World Cups.
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SCOTLAND’S HISTORY AT THE WORLD CUP
What. A. Night. What else is there to say about Tuesday? Goals and scenes that will be replayed for years and years to come.
There is the easy way, the hard way, and the Scotland way.
Focus now turns to Friday, 5th December, and Washington DC for the FIFA World Cup draw. We know we will be in pot three.
With the draw in mind, let’s take a look back at who we have faced before.
1954 - SWITZERLAND
This wasn’t the first World Cup we had qualified for. Scotland earned qualification for the 1950 World Cup by finishing second in the British Home Championship. The Scottish FA refused to take up the spot on principle, insisting the team should only go if they were champions, much to the frustration of the players.
Four years later, we again finished as runners-up, but this time accepted the invitation and travelled to Switzerland. There, we were placed in a group alongside Uruguay, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. The tournament did not use a full round-robin system; instead, each group contained only four scheduled matches, with the two seeded nations facing each of the unseeded sides.
AUSTRIA 1 - 0 SCOTLAND
16 June 1954 - Zurich
Scotland’s first-ever World Cup match ended in a one-goal defeat to Austria. Erich Probst scored the only goal in 37 minutes.