Scotland legends believe the national team can finally break a five-decade curse by beating Brazil for the first time in World Cup history when the two sides meet in Miami tonight. The Scots have never defeated the Seleção in four previous World Cup encounters, losing three and drawing one since 1974.
Murdo MacLeod: 'This is the game they want to win'
Former midfielder Murdo MacLeod, who was knocked unconscious by a Branco free-kick in the 1990 World Cup, expressed confidence in Steve Clarke's squad. "This is the game that they want to win. No matter how good they are, they've just got to go and win against Brazil and it will be so great for the whole country," MacLeod said. "Every kid at my level when we were at school wanted to beat Brazil. We've played against Brazil so many times and not beaten them, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed we can win it this time."
The 1990 match in Italy ended 1-0 to Brazil, with Muller scoring in the 81st minute. MacLeod recalled the impact of the free-kick: "I remember nothing. It's amazing the amount of people that still talk about it."
Paul Lambert: 'We had a great game against a brilliant Brazilian team'
Paul Lambert, who played in the 1998 World Cup opener against Brazil, highlighted the narrow defeat. Scotland led 1-0 through a John Collins penalty, but an own goal by Tom Boyd and a Cafu strike gave Brazil a 2-1 win. "If it never hit Boydy's shoulder blade and his chest I think Jim Leighton would have picked that ball up dead easy and it would have been 1-1," Lambert said. "We had some great chances to equalise it 2-2. I think we should have had a penalty at the end of the game."
Lambert believes the current Brazil side is not as strong as previous generations. "This Brazilian team they're up against just now are a great side. Are they as good as years gone by? No, I think everyone would say that. Can you get chances against them? Yeah you can," he added.
Alan Rough: 'This Brazil team aren't the quality we faced'
Goalkeeper Alan Rough, who played in the 1982 4-1 loss, noted the difference in quality. "Everybody knew that year that Brazil were probably the best team in the world and were potentially going to win the cup," Rough said. "But I don't think this Brazil team are the quality that we played against. They don't have the same squad and depth. That doesn't mean they're not going to be a hard team to beat. But I think Stevie Clarke has got the team organised and if we score first we're a very, very hard team to beat."
David Hay: 'We could have won in 1974'
The solitary point against Brazil came in 1974, a 0-0 draw. David Hay, who played in that match, reflected on missed opportunities. "On reflection we could have won. There's one chance people talk about but it wasn't really a chance as it pinballed off Billy's leg after their goalie palmed it out," Hay said. "We would snap your hand off for a 0-0 against Brazil this time, although ironically three points might be enough to get us through."
Scotland know a draw will be enough to reach the knockout stage, but even a narrow loss could see them through as one of the best third-place teams. The match kicks off in Miami at 8pm local time.
