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The last time Scotland faced Peru at a World Cup was in Argentina in 1978, and it didn’t go well. Scotland lost that match 3-1, with Teofilo Cubillas scoring twice in a performance that became the stuff of Peruvian football legend.
That 1978 defeat is still one of the more painful episodes in Scottish football history. Ally MacLeod’s squad had arrived in Argentina with enormous expectations, practically promising the nation they’d return as heroes. They did not.
A draw with Iran followed before a famous 3-2 win over the Netherlands proved too little, too late. Scotland went home in the group stage.
The 1998 tournament in France was the last time they qualified before their current appearance, meaning an entire generation of Scottish fans grew up without seeing their team on the biggest stage.
Under Steve Clarke, Scotland reached consecutive European Championships and qualified for a World Cup for the first time in nearly three decades. The squad was placed in Group C for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with matches scheduled against Haiti on June 13 or 14 in Boston, Morocco on June 19 in Boston, and Brazil on June 24 in Miami. A warm-up friendly against Bolivia on June 6 was part of the preparation schedule.
Morocco, fresh off a stunning run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals, reached a historic fourth-place finish in Qatar after dismantling Belgium and Spain.
With 48 teams split into groups of four in the expanded tournament format, the top two from each group and some third-place finishers progress.
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