Football Daily: No Scotland, no party? Brazil dominate Tartan Army's World Cup fun
Quick summary
The Guardian's Football Daily column discusses Scotland's absence from the 2026 World Cup and Brazil's presence, examining the atmosphere and implications of the Tartan Army missing out on the tournament.
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Sorry, I’m a Lady, The Devil Sent You to Lorado and Sleepy-Time-Toy are reminders that no one remembers the bad times, the mind is selective and focuses on the positives. Baccara’s back catalogue is roughly one song long, the others are rightly forgotten, a figment of only a few people’s imaginations. Scotland needed a certain song and took it around America; well, from Boston to Miami at least. The nation arrived with hope, boasting European champions, Premier League and Serie A winners among their cohort on the pitch, hoping to get through the group while drinking cities dry. All they had to do was get past Haiti, African champions* Morocco and those boys from Brazil.
I’ve given up hope of ever being the author of the letter o’ the day with you lot but wish to join the 1,056 other California-based pedants and point out that the aforementioned cheese [Football Daily letters passim] is correctly referred to as ‘Monterey Jack’. Monterey is the city in California, Monterrey (with two Rs) is in Mexico” – Jim Broshar.
Congratulations to Scotland for finding new ways to extend the torture of their wonderful fans. In previous tournaments they would go out unbeaten, or in glorious defeat, with the goal of the tournament thrown in for good measure. Now, in keeping with this bloated GWC, they get an extra three-day wait in the Miami heat, while watching one team after another best them on goal difference” – Justin Kavanagh.
Fox Sports’ ‘The 32’ is punchier than the name here in Germany at least. As well as quarter-finals ( viertelfinale ), German has the semis as ‘half finals’ (halbfinale), the round-of-16 as “eighth finals” ( achtelfinale ), and so naturally the new stage is the ‘16th finals’ ( sechszehntelfinale ). Germany also considers the second-place team as ‘vice champions’ ( vizemeister ), probably as they’ve been second so often” – Chris Green.
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What happened
The Guardian's Football Daily column addresses the notable absence of Scotland from the 2026 FIFA World Cup and contrasts it with Brazil's strong showing and vibrant fan presence. The piece reflects on the Tartan Army's tradition of bringing atmosphere to tournaments and the disappointment of their missing out. It contextualizes Scotland's failure to qualify alongside Brazil's status as a tournament favorite, with the column adopting a light-hearted editorial tone typical of The Guardian's daily football roundup.
Chance analysis
Scotland's failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup removes one of the tournament's most colorful traveling fanbases, subtly affecting atmosphere and media narrative. Brazil's prominence as a tournament heavyweight means their group-stage fixtures will carry significant market weight. For prediction systems, Scotland's absence simplifies certain group calculations, while Brazil remain a key contender in outright markets.
Scotland's World Cup absence reduces the field of competitive nations, while Brazil's strong tournament presence reinforces their status as a top contender for the 2026 title.
Scotland are not at the 2026 World Cup, reducing the number of competitive teams to model; Brazil remain a major tournament force to track for outright and match-level predictions.