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Scotland, who have played at each of the past two European Championships, booked their spot at a World Cup for the first time since 1998 in dramatic fashion with an unforgettable victory against Denmark<\/a> at Hampden Park in November.<\/p>\n Backed by tens of thousands of fans who had travelled to the United States, John McGinn’s deflected strike against Haiti earned the country’s first win at a World Cup for 36 years.<\/p>\n That would be Scotland’s only goal of the tournament.<\/p>\n They lost to a second-minute strike by 2022 semi-finalists Morocco in their second match, so they entered their final group game against Brazil knowing a draw would probably be enough to send them through as one of the best third-placed teams.<\/p>\n However, first-half defensive errors would prove their undoing.<\/p>\n They once again conceded early when defender Scott McKenna was robbed of possession inside his own penalty area, gifting an opener to Vinicius Jr.<\/p>\n The Real Madrid forward was denied a second when the video assistant referee (VAR) deemed he had fouled Jack Hendry before rolling the ball past Angus Gunn, but just before half-time Scotland again gave the ball away near their own goal and Vinicius Jr nodded in at the back post to make it 2-0.<\/p>\n Matheus Cunha extended Brazil’s advantage after half-time and a late rally failed to yield a reply that would have improved Scotland’s goal difference.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n