Aston Villa captain John McGinn can only hope for lady luck to determine the fate of his nation’s World Cup campaign.
Aston Villa skipper John McGinn appears to be enduring a less promising campaign with Scotland at this year’s World Cup. After their not-so-convincing 1-0 win over Haiti, which was their first victory at the World Cup since 1990, Scotland’s form began to dip, and so did McGinn’s.
They were narrowly beaten 1-0 by Morocco through an early goal and were helpless against Brazil as they slumped to a 3-0 defeat. What’s worse, they conceded twice through their own mistakes. Their defensive frailties have taken their toll, which is surely disappointing for them and their fans.
They still have a chance to qualify as one of the best eight third-placed teams, but it would require some unlikely results from the other teams in the remaining groups. No wonder The Tartan Army are on the verge of yet another failure to progress from the group stage. McGinn shared his feelings regarding their chances of going through, as reported by the ExpressandStars.
“It’s not the way you want to go out either. We’ll probably hurt tonight, hurt tomorrow and then just keep our fingers crossed. If we go into the last 32, if we get a miracle, we’ll need to be better, we know that.”
Scotland are currently in eighth place in the latest ranking of the third-placed teams. Following the latest results, in which Sweden held Japan to a 1-1 draw, Paraguay shared the spoils with Australia in a stalemate, and Ecuador stunned Germany with a victory, Steve Clarke’s men have been pushed to the brink of another disappointment.
Scotland have scored only once and conceded four goals. Their goal difference of minus three puts them at a disadvantage compared to the other teams. Thus, only fortune can help them, as their performances in the USA have not lived up to expectations on the global stage.
Based on the bracket, The Tartan Army can only be placed in the slot against the winners of Group A, Mexico. In this slot, they are competing with the third-placed teams from Groups E and H.
Scotland could advance and take on the co-hosts in Mexico City if several results go their way. Since Ecuador have collected more points, Steve Clarke’s men can only hope Spain defeat Uruguay heavily in Group H so Marcelo Bielsa’s men finish with only two points.
Unfortunately, that alone would not be enough. For Scotland to progress, Ecuador must be placed in another section of the bracket so they do not block Scotland’s path.
Ecuador can be drawn against the winners of Group L if they finish with a better record than the third-placed teams from Groups I, J, and K. In Group I, Senegal and Iraq must draw, or Iraq must win by only one goal, as their current goal difference is -5.
In Group J, either Austria or Algeria must win by more than a three-goal margin rather than draw. That would ensure whichever team finishes third has a worse goal difference than Scotland. Currently, Austria have a goal difference of 0, while Algeria are on -2.
In Group K, Scotland need DR Congo to fail to beat Uzbekistan. Alternatively, Uzbekistan can win by only one goal or by fewer than four goals.
Ecuador’s other possible bracket positions involve the contenders from Group G. They will face either Switzerland or the winners of Group K (Portugal or Colombia) should the following results occur.
In Group G, Egypt must beat Iran. That would not only help McGinn’s Scotland but also Youri Tielemans’ Belgium, provided Belgium do not lose to New Zealand. Such a result would leave either Team Melli or the All Whites in third place with only two points.
Lastly, in Group L, Ghana must beat Croatia by at least a three-goal margin.
There is actually another bracket position in which Scotland are one of the possible teams. It is the section against Germany. They are expected to face one of the third-placed teams from Group C (Scotland), Group D (Paraguay), or Group F (Sweden).
In that scenario, Scotland are clearly behind the others, as Paraguay and Sweden have four points each, while Andy Robertson and Co have managed to collect only three points.
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