Ian Wright launches scathing attack on Scottish football and urges bosses to do more as the Tartans struggle at the 2026 World Cup
Ian Wright slams Scottish leaders (Image: ITV)
Ian Wright has claimed Scottish leaders are “letting the country down” with a lackluster approach to football despite “fantastic” support. The Tartan Army qualified for the North American World Cup finals with one game in hand, as they were given three spots in the Round of 32 in Group C.
Steve Clarke’s side beat Haiti 1-0 in their opening game, but it was far from convincing against one of the bottom teams in the competition. Meanwhile, Scotland barely threatened Yassine Bounou’s goal last Friday against Morocco and their efforts were rewarded as they escaped with a 1-0 defeat.
And during ITV’s coverage of Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. Qatar, Wright was free to give his assessment of Scotland’s struggles as a pundit. Mark Pugach asked: “Ian, how do you feel about Scotland’s approach at the moment?”
To this, the Arsenal legend replied with a stony face: “Well, if you look at the Paugus and say, 2 shots on target, you’ll probably think that, right? Two shots on target in two games, but none in the Morocco game…”
“I feel for Scotland, I feel for the fans, I feel for everything. Laura[Woods]asked me the other day about Scotland: What can Scotland do next? And I think it goes deeper than that.”
“If you look at Norway, a country of Scotland’s size, we average 6,000 or 7,000 people a week. Scotland averages 16,000, but Norway has managed to get £25m more in broadcast contracts a year than Scotland.
“Obviously they have a better commercial outfit than them, but at the same time we look at Scotland and its raw materials. We look at the incredible audience numbers, the talent, the storylines, the grassroots participation.
“Someone in Scotland is letting this country down on a massive scale. To all the tourists around the world, I’m so proud of them…They have to do more. I need a bolder, braver vision for Scottish football.”
Meanwhile, manager Patrick Vieira added: “I think there’s individual talent in this team. (Scott) McTominay, (Billy) Gilmour have done very well in Italy and if you look at these players individually, they’ve done very well for their clubs. So Mark, the question is why can’t they perform at that level in international competitions, especially in the World Cup?”
Duncan Ferguson explained that Scotland have historically struggled for firepower at the top, before harshly comparing his country’s struggles to England’s lackluster goalless stalemate against Ghana on Tuesday night.
The Everton legend said: “Scotland fans want to see us get to the next round, that’s all. As long as we get there, it doesn’t matter how we do it. Look at Ghana vs England yesterday. England didn’t have a single shot on target in the first half, so it’s not just a Scottish problem.”
“England didn’t score against Ghana because they were sitting in the low block. There’s nothing wrong with sitting in the low block. There are different aspects to the game of football. So Scotland can sit in the low block, but we need that threat. I’m not questioning it. We definitely need the threat going forward.”
When Vieira suggested that Scotland might be satisfied with their 1-0 loss to Morocco, Ferguson was not inclined to agree, replying: “I don’t know, Patrick. To be honest, I think the players gave it their all. You mentioned McTominay, he covered every blade of grass.”
However, the former Arsenal captain answered with firm conviction: “I believe they have more than they showed against Morocco. I hope they have more and I believe they have more.”
Scotland face Brazil in the final Group C game of the tournament on Wednesday night at 11pm. Morocco will play against Haiti.
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