The faces of Scott McTominay and his teammates after the 3–0 defeat to Brazil, six weeks ago, told their own story. Scotland were out of another World Cup at the group stage, 28 years after their previous appearance had ended in the same place. In France, Brazil had been there too. But those expressions carried something beyond the result. They belonged to a team that had already pushed itself close to its limits. Steve Clarke’s resignation, after overseeing the finest cycle of the modern Tartan Army, felt like an acknowledgement of something harder to accept. Not failure. Not collapse. More a recognition that Scotland may already have reached the edge of what is possible for now. Morocco and Brazil remain a distance away, and time alone will not close the gap.
The concern stretches beyond one tournament. Across Glasgow and Edinburgh, the same question keeps returning: what happens to the next generation? The talent has never really been the issue. Holding on to it has. England’s wealthier academies have become an almost irresistible pull for young players with Premier League ambitions. They offer the facilities, the exposure, the promise of a quicker route towards the top. And beyond the clubs sits another possibility too: an England shirt, perhaps one day, through a naturalisation process that is hardly a barrier. Not every player carries the same attachment to Scotland as McTominay. That is the uncomfortable reality.
In a detailed investigation, The Athletic traced the journeys of some of the brightest young players born and developed in Scotland before they moved south. Rangers to Watford. Celtic to Liverpool. Dundee to Wolves. Since 2021, more than 70 such transfers have taken place. Entirely legitimate moves between clubs, but ones whose consequences may only become visible years later, when international football enters the picture. The attraction is obvious. The Premier League, and English football more broadly, operates on another scale. “When you speak to federation officials in Croatia or Belgium, they know their young players dream of going to England and developing there,” the president of the Scottish FA said.
The difference is geography. For much of Europe, distance creates a natural barrier. For Scotland, there is barely one at all. England is across the border, always present, always close enough. Rangers to Watford. Celtic to Liverpool. Dundee to Wolves. The names tell the story. And leaving early does not always mean progressing faster. Almost half of Scotland’s internationals came through the domestic game before establishing themselves in senior football, a reminder of the value of regular first-team minutes at a young age. England’s academy structure is deeper and more competitive, but it does not always offer the same path.
“We’ve lost the next generation of footballers,” is the feeling around Glasgow. By the time the 2030 World Cup arrives, McTominay, John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson and Andy Robertson will all be beyond 30. The Tartan Army may have conquered the United States with its noise, colour and presence away from the pitch. It remains one of football’s great travelling cultures. The question is when Scotland will have another stage on which to show it.