Eighteen years to the day when Scotland saw off Latvia on a rousing Celtic Park afternoon to qualify for the 1998 World Cup,departure from the Euro 2016 scene was at least confirmed with dignity intact. Gordon Strachan’s team were expected to see off hapless Gibraltar and duly did so without an iota of fuss. There were even elements of belated Scotland swagger, a hat-trick for Steven Fletcher and a post-match bond between support and team that even some successful regimes are not afforded.
The importance of that 1997 juncture will be lost on no Scottish fan; it marked the last time qualification for a major tournament was achieved. The intervening years maintain if varying degrees of agony, and none more so than the circumstances last Thursday evening.
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Source: theguardian.com