How Scotland can still qualify for knockouts despite losing to Morocco and Brazil
There's probably been plenty of rough mornings for Scottish fans during the World Cup festivities but none more so than today.
Despite this being literally the easiest World Cup in history to qualify from the group, there's now a good chance that Steve Clarke's side could be going home early following their 3-0 defeat to Brazil.
The Scots have had a fantastic time off the pitch, drinking bars in Boston dry and making memories with their American hosts, but it's been another disaster on the pitch for the Tartan Army.
After scraping past minnows Haiti 1-0 in their opening fixture, they realistically needed just one point from their games against Morocco and Brazil to qualify, with three points perhaps even enough to see them through.
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But four unanswered goals in the two defeats against Morocco and Brazil now leave the Scots seventh in the table of third-place teams, with only the top eight progressing into the knockout stages.
Wins for South Africa and Bosnia and Herzegovina have seriously harmed Scotland's chances, with Steve Clarke very honest about his team's chances in the post-match press conference.
He said: “I think we’re going home.
“You see their quality in the final third of the pitch, we didn’t have that. We created chances but it wasn’t enough. Let’s be honest, the best team won.
“The first thing they have got to do is go away and compute their performance and why we lost the game in the manner we did, We can worry about the rest later. We gave them the goals. When you look at Brazil attacking play and ours, really no comparison. We definitely didn’t play as we can play.”
However, not all hope is lost, because as it stands, Scotland are still going through to the last 32, where they would face the rather ominous task of playing host nation Mexico, who have won every game without conceding a goal. Perhaps they simply shouldn't bother.
In order to stay in that position, Scotland essentially needs the teams below them in the third-place standings to avoid picking up any points, while they will also need anyone in fourth who isn't already out to lose or draw.
The fixtures, therefore, that Scotland need to keep an eye on are:
Paraguay vs Australia - a big winner in this game could see one of them drop below Scotland on goal difference, although both teams know that a draw will probably send them through.
Germany vs Ecuador - an Ecuador win would spell big trouble for the Scots.
Ivory Coast vs Curacao - although unlikely, a Curacao victory could also end up sending the Scots home.
Belgium vs New Zealand - Scotland will be hoping for a Belgium win here, otherwise New Zealand could sneak through.
Iran vs Egypt - If there's a draw here, then Iran could easily drop to third in their group should Belgium beat New Zealand, and then they'd progress ahead of Scotland as the third-placed team on goal difference.
Uzbekistan vs DR Congo - A win for Uzbekistan or draw would be best here, as DR Congo would move ahead of Scotland in the third-place standings if they finish on four points.
Senegal vs Iraq - Although they have lost both games so far, if Senegal beat Iraq then they would move ahead of Scotland in the third-place standings on goal difference.
So, the final two of those fixtures might be most crucial in terms of the third-place table, and frankly it's difficult to see everything work out in Scotland's favour.
At least they've drunk a lot of beer during their first World Cup appearance since 1998.
James Moorhouse