Brazil made easy work of Scotland 3-0 in their Group C encounter on Wednesday at the 2026 World Cup, leaving Steve Clarke and his side’s hopes for last 32 qualification on thin ice.
Scotland midfielder John McGinn and full-back and captain Andy Robertson pointed to their side’s lack of quality and precision at key moments as reasons for their underwhelming campaign.
Brazil on the other hand, struggled with their team cohesion in the tournament initially, but in the past two games have illustrated the quality that has made them five-time World Cup winners.
McGinn: ‘We were short on quality’
“We conceded goals at poor times against a team that can punish you with quality,” McGinn told the BBC, quoted on Sky Sports.
“But had a few chances ourselves.
“You can see the lads are gutted. We were short on quality but we gave it absolutely everything. The lads are empty.
“We have given ourselves a more difficult chance; it’s unlikely now but we will see,” he added.
“We probably were fortunate to have the [second] goal disallowed.
“They allowed us to have the ball and at this level, if you make mistakes, you get punished. We know we have to be better.
“It is raw for us at the moment but hopefully the journey is not over.”
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We were “in a false sense of security” says Robertson
“Frustration. Making mistakes. We started the game well and were keeping the ball well,” the Scotland captain said.
“They put us in a false sense of security; we thought we had more time on the ball. Our initial reaction is just one of frustration.
“In certain moments, we let ourselves down tonight. At times, we were comfortable on the ball and got ourselves into dangerous areas.
“But against these teams, we cannot afford to make the mistakes we were making,” Robertson continued.
“We were punished for pretty much every mistake. It’s not good enough when you get beaten 3-0. We only have ourselves to blame.
Imminent exit
“Personally, time will tell. We need to take a day or two to see what has happened. As a collective, we didn’t want to put ourselves in a position to hope for favours,” Robertson added.
“If you ask me now, I don’t think it is enough. Time will tell.
“The next couple of days will be horrible.”
The result sees Brazil advance to the last 32 to clash with the Group F runner-up, and Scotland on the brink of imminent elimination.
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