2 hours ago Scotland hopes connected the brink pursuing decision against Brazil
By
BBC Scotland's main sports writer astatine Miami Stadium
God bless the Tartan Army successful each their beery magnificence. God bless them for their sound and colour and all-round cuddliness. God bless them for charming the bully radical of Boston and Miami and earning a afloat leafage diagnostic successful Wednesday's O Globo, Brazil's best-selling newspaper.
They tried to assistance their squad successful Miami but a forklift motortruck couldn't person got Scotland's situation disconnected the crushed - not portion they defended arsenic they did aboriginal on, not portion they lone stirred and forced 5 saves from Alisson successful the Brazil extremity erstwhile they were already 3-0 down.
'Lacking competitiveness connected the pitch, Scotland enactment connected a amusement with their fans' went the O Globo headline.
Well, the amusement stopped successful Miami, Vinicius Jr bursting into the party, stopping the euphony and telling everybody to get to their beds.
Brazil did what immoderate thought was intolerable - they silenced the Tartan Army, they sucked the vigor retired of radical who person gallivanted astir this state for weeks debased connected sleep, precocious connected gargle and stratospheric connected positivity.
There were a fewer defiant cries, immoderate shows of belligerence, but this happening was arsenic bully arsenic done aft 7 minutes erstwhile Vini Jr scored his archetypal and wholly done erstwhile helium scored his 2nd earlier the break.
Herds of rampaging wildebeest person looked little awe-inspiring arsenic these fans person for weeks. On Wednesday, successful the stifling humidity of Miami, Brazil rounded them up and ran them into a yellowish wall.
Shot astatine redemption oregon travel to torture chamber?
From aboriginal on, we were looking astatine the game, yes, but besides moving retired the huffy value of it all. We turned elsewhere to spot what each of this meant successful the expansive strategy of things.
Before the games began connected Wednesday, Scotland were sitting comparatively beauteous arsenic 2nd of the champion third-placed teams successful the tournament.
Bosnia-Herzegovina's triumph implicit Qatar dropped Scotland to third. Brazil's dominance dropped them further. Down and down they went, their buffer each but removed, their obsession astir results elsewhere successful the coming days multiplying arsenic they went.
Back to Charlotte, North Carolina they'll spell connected Thursday; battered and dazed, uncertain of their aboriginal successful this tournament, if they person one.
As it stands, the predictor has them playing Mexico connected Tuesday - a changeable astatine redemption oregon different travel to a torture chamber?
That mightiness crook connected its head, of course. Other teams successful the coming days volition person plentifulness to accidental astir this yet.
Scotland are sweating connected a spot successful the past 32. That's the no-man's onshore they're surviving successful now, frantically looking astatine the respective fates of Senegal and Ecuador, Curacao and Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia and others.
There was a definite inevitably astir it. Until Bolivia earlier this month, Scotland person ne'er beaten South American opposition, ne'er beaten Brazil successful 10 attempts going backmost 50 years. They rallied and created moments but it was excessively little, excessively late.
The infinitesimal Vini Jr scored successful the seventh infinitesimal those upwind warnings that archetypal looked a menace present looked similar a relief. Seventy seconds past week against Morocco and 7 minutes present successful Miami. Where was that damned lightning? Where was the thunder and the respite?
Scotland don't conscionable concede goals, they make calamities - the benignant of slapstick defending that a subordinate specified arsenic Vini Jr is waiting to instrumentality vantage of.
Scott McKenna volition aftermath up successful the dormant of nighttime for the remainder of his days aft this. He volition retrieve the feeling of panic arsenic helium dawdled connected the ball, helium volition spot Rayan ransacking him successful his sleep. Put your ft done it? No, hold and die.
When it broke to Vini Jr the champion efforts of Gunn successful extremity could not halt him. In his ain infinitesimal of terror, Gunn acted similar a antheral jumping retired of a cupboard trying to spook somebody. The Brazilian conscionable took it circular him and tapped it home.
For days the Scots would person worked connected getting disconnected to a coagulated commencement pursuing their aboriginal concession against Morocco. All of that reasoning drifted distant successful the Miami entity erstwhile Brazil deed the front.
Giving gifts to Vini Jr would person been the beginning, the extremity and the successful betwixt of the things Scotland knew they couldn't do.
It was his 4th World Cup goal. In that infinitesimal helium became lone the 5th Brazilian to people successful each 3 radical signifier matches successful a azygous World Cup - Jairzinho, Romario, Ronaldo and Rivaldo being the others.
Immortals, all. He's good connected his mode to joining them successful the pantheon of greats.
Do impotent Scotland merit to travel home?
The electrifying sound and colour of the pre-match present became solely samba and astir exclusively yellow.
There was a 2nd for Brazil - and for Vini Jnr - but VAR smiled connected Scotland. The hydration interruption arrived and it wasn't liquid that the underdogs needed, it was oxygen, smelling salts, ample brandies. And that lightning storm.
On the resumption, for immoderate little moments they looked, well, OK. The barroom is not high, but they settled. They won immoderate corners, they had a fewer cracks from distance.
Nothing that caused Brazil a scintilla of concern, but it was a breather, a interruption from the tormenting ways of Brazil's improvement connected the near helping if thing else.
That crumb of optimism was swept distant erstwhile Vini capitalised connected a 2nd outbreak of world-class dithering successful beforehand of their ain goal.
Andy Robertson gave it distant successful a hurry, Scotland mislaid the collision, Bruno Guimaraes dinked it to the backmost post, Gunn groped astatine aerial and Nathan Patterson mislaid Vini Jr. How could helium miss him? One of the world's large talents and Patterson conscionable fto him peel distant and caput home.
'We gave it perfectly everything'
Scotland spent 47 seconds successful Brazil's last 3rd successful the opening half. When the fractional ended they inactive hadn't recorded a changeable connected people since John McGinn scored by mode of a treble deflection 28 minutes into the Haiti game. More than 3 hours without moving an absorption goalkeeper.
No squad deserves to spell anyplace but location erstwhile you're arsenic impotent arsenic that.
Finally, Scotland, done Scott McTominay, got 1 connected people but Alisson didn't person to displacement his feet to halt it. Vini Jr was one-on-one with Gunn soon aft but Gunn saved it. No matter. Guimaraes brushed Kenny McLean speech and teed-up Matheus Cunha for the third.
They brought connected Neymar with 14 minutes to spell and Miami Stadium erupted arsenic if a 4th extremity had gone in. It's been 2 and a fractional years since Neymar wore the celebrated jersey - and what a cushy mode to marque his return. No pressure, occupation done.
Brazil were going done arsenic radical winners nary substance what helium did. Adding immoderate decoration connected apical was his lone task.
Scotland rallied and had chances, mostly from McTominay, each of them kept out. It was astir achy watching them; trying everything but delivering nothing, not adjacent a consolation extremity that mightiness beryllium significant. Who knows?
At the end, 4 Scotland men collapsed to the deck, from disappointment, from exhaustion. Playing successful those conditions indispensable person been savagely difficult.
They were down, but are they out? Progressing aft 1 deflected extremity and 2 defeats would beryllium the strangest benignant of accomplishment successful the past of the nationalist team.
The days up volition archer america everything. For now, Brazil reign and disorder rules.
English (US)·