The dust from Tuesday night has only slightly settled. I still can’t really believe that next summer I’ll be watching my country at the World Cup.
From the 27 years we’ve been absent from the world’s biggest stage, I’ve lived through 23 of them, and it’s been pretty brutal. Why did Armstrong not clear it? How bad was the Ukraine Play-off? No fans and no fun in 2021, the buzz for Germany fell like a lead balloon. But, anyway, none of that matters now.
Scotland didn’t play in a major tournament until I was 19, so I understand beggars can’t be choosers but, the Euros in 2021 was behind closed doors- I watched us qualify from my living room. Our qualification for Euro 2024 wasn’t secured by ourselves. So, I think if you pictured an ideal Tuesday night, what we saw would’ve been out of our wildest imaginations. How do you predict McTominay’s overhead kick? Kieran Tierney’s stoppage time goal? McLean’s halfway line goal to seal it? It’s all just insane.
That being said, I hope Shankland’s goal doesn’t vanish into obscurity either, while the lead he gave us was short-lived, he gave us all hope and played a crucial part in giving us all the night we had. It’s a night I keep looking back on, and a night I’ll keep looking back on. It’s going to be a night where you remember exactly where you were, where you can play the memories back in your head, and a night I’ll tell my kids about.
I’ve never been embarrassed or ashamed to be from where I am; but I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud since Tuesday. Being in Hampden for it was so surreal, 50,000 of us all united by our country and our players, all witnessing history happening in front of us. That’s why I love the national team so much, in a country where football divides us all, that National Team does so much to bring us all back together. I remember being out celebrating on Tuesday night. Whenever someone would ask me what club I supported, I’d answer Hibs, but it didn’t actually matter. I’d celebrate with fans of Hearts and Rangers to name a few because we all supported the same team that night, sung the same songs and shared the same joy, it’s what football is all about.
I was at the 2016 Scottish Cup Final and I’ve made peace with the fact that football was all downhill from there, that I’d never go to a better game again, but that came close.
Now it’s time to look forward for the summer, look for the flights, whether it’s New York City, Mexico City or Toronto. One thing’s for certain: We’ll be coming.
