This past weekend has been another football based weekend. On Saturday I attended Hampden Park for the third time in about 6 weeks. Which is an oddity in itself. Just how everything has panned out.
Saturday was Scotland’s final game before they jetted off to the USA for the World Cup. The first Word Cup Scotland has attended since 1998. I remember the excitement at High School, as I was ending second year when the tournament was on. It was probably the last time that I tried to collect football stickers. Something I tried numerous times, but never ever filled an album. In fact, I think I shared some with my brother, and I remember getting angry at stickers going on squint, and not as neat as I would like.
Anywho, we were driving to Hampden, and the roads were a nightmare. We did eventually get parked up, and went into the stadium no bother. Nothing beats hearing the Hampden roar during a Scotland game.
We found our seats, and it felt like we were right in front of all the action. I had no idea we were sitting, just got told I had a ticket, and paid for it. It was from a friend, by the way. It wasn’t me buying random resale tickets. Luckily the seats were under the shelter, so that we never got hit by the what seems to be constant rain. But it was a pretty great view.
The opposition was Curaçao, who have been the smallest island nation to qualify for the World Cup, as they are also off to the USA for the 2026 World Cup. They brought a few hundred fans with them, and they were so noisy. It was great to see. And the Curaçao team were pretty scrappy, and they scored first. Which, to the dismay of the Scotland fans, was well deserved. Curaçao player Jürgen Locadia, received a yellow card for a bad tackle. This was then updated to a red card after the referee checked the VAR. Unfortunately, Billy Gilmour went off with a bad injury. Luckily, things picked up and Findlay Curtis scored an equaliser just before half time
The second half was much more controlled by Scotland. With two Lawrence Shankland goals, and a handful of attempts on goal by Ryan Christie, Lyndon Dykes, and Nathan Patterson. Scotland felt in control. Findlay Curtis was brought down in the penalty box, and Ryan Christie scored from the spot. The players on both sides gave it a good go but the game ended 4-1 Scotland.
It was a grand wee day out, and a good send off to the Scotland team. The USA is providing to be very expensive, and a lot of Scotland fans are unable to fly to the states. The best thing about Scotland games, as the club you support is irrelevant, as long as you support the Scotland team. Speaking of support, the official Scotland football team YouTube channel have released a documentary called ’28 Summers’. It is about the qualifying campaign for the World Cup, and speaks to the players about their experience in the Scotland camp. They seem a really great bunch of lads, and if anyone can get us out of the group stages, it’s this team.
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