Scotland out of World Cup 2026: Steve Clarke's side eliminated in group stage

Highlights: Scotland lose final group match to Brazil

Scotland have been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup following Croatia's 2-1 win over Ghana, with manager Steve Clarke announcing his resignation.

The result in Group L means Scotland cannot finish as one of the eight best third-placed teams that will reach the knockout stage.

Scotland announced Clarke would be stepping down after seven years in charge shortly after full-time.

It is another group-stage exit from a major tournament for Scotland, who have appeared at nine World Cups and four European Championships without ever progressing past the first phase.

Scotland began their first World Cup for 28 years by beating Haiti 1-0, the lowest-ranked team in their group, but stiffer tests lay ahead in Group C against two sides in the world's top 10.

A 1-0 defeat by Morocco was followed by Wednesday's 3-0 loss to Brazil in Miami, which left them third on three points and with a -3 goal difference.

Clarke and some of his players conceded after the Brazil defeat that progression to the last 32 was unlikely and they faced a wait of several days to discover their fate while the remaining matches in other groups were played.

Results such as Ecuador's comeback win against Germany reduced their predicted chance of progressing to 5.26% with six of the 12 groups still to be completed and Croatia's victory sealed Scotland's exit.

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Scotland, who have played at each of the past two European Championships, booked their spot at a World Cup for the first time since 1998 in dramatic fashion with an unforgettable victory against Denmark at Hampden Park in November.

Backed by tens of thousands of fans who had travelled to the United States, John McGinn's deflected strike against Haiti earned the country's first win at a World Cup for 36 years.

That would be Scotland's only goal of the tournament.

They lost to a second-minute strike by 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in their second match, so they entered their final group game against Brazil knowing a draw would probably be enough to send them through as one of the best third-placed teams.

However, first-half defensive errors would prove their undoing.

They once again conceded early when defender Scott McKenna was robbed of possession inside his own penalty area, gifting an opener to Vinicius Jr.

The Real Madrid forward was denied a second when the video assistant referee (VAR) deemed he had fouled Jack Hendry before rolling the ball past Angus Gunn, but just before half-time Scotland again gave the ball away near their own goal and Vinicius Jr nodded in at the back post to make it 2-0.

Matheus Cunha extended Brazil's advantage after half-time and a late rally failed to yield a reply that would have improved Scotland's goal difference.

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