At the risk of sounding anti-Scottish, I couldn’t help but cringe at the recent fan “behaviour” over this World Cup. Bagpipes at 6am? Drinking Boston clean of beer? Processions through the streets? And all of that while your team is, well, as weak as it is? I am not sure if anything about Scotland’s starting 11 warranted such jingoistic confidence. Scotland has many strengths, but pulling off a World Cup win – even pulling itself out of the group stages – will never be one of them.

“The Tartan Army” they call themselves. Please. Scotland, you don’t have an army. Were Vladimir Putin to come knocking for your oil, it would be England with an assist from France who were charged with clearing up the mess. No, in the world of international football the only places that have earned the right to such nationalistic flamboyance this month are the Argentinians, possibly the French and, sorry to say, the English, too. Make your own judgment on the merits of Spain.

While you’re here, performative anti-Englishness might be one of the most boring national pastimes of Ireland and of Scotland, too. It screams of insecurity and lack of imagination. And when it comes to the football it is just wrong-headed. The only chance these islands have at triumph lies with Jude Bellingham........

© The Irish Times