Scotland secured a comeback victory against 10-man Curaçao in a World Cup warm-up match at Hampden Park, but the win was overshadowed by a knee injury to midfielder Billy Gilmour that has ruled him out of the finals. Gilmour collapsed while playing a routine pass in the first half and was later confirmed to be unavailable for the tournament.
Curaçao took a shock lead through Tahith Chong, who collected the ball on the halfway line, beat two defenders, and fired past Craig Gordon. Scotland struggled in the first half, with the home fans audibly booing during a drinks break. However, the match turned when Curaçao's Jürgen Locadia was sent off for elbowing Aaron Hickey, reducing the visitors to 10 men.
Scotland equalised through Findlay Curtis, who replaced the injured Gilmour, before a second-half blitz secured the win. Manager Steve Clarke made several changes at half-time, including handing a debut to Tyler Fletcher, son of former captain Darren Fletcher. Despite the victory, Clarke faces a major blow with Gilmour's absence, following a similar misfortune at Euro 2020 when he missed a crucial match due to Covid.
The Tartan Army gave the team a rousing send-off ahead of their first World Cup appearance in 28 years. Scotland will now travel to the United States for the tournament, where they face Haiti in their opening group match.
