THE NORSE HAS BOLTED
Last time Scots secured point at a finals and Paul still can’t believe we didn’t get all three
IT was a time when Scotland not only qualified for a major finals but on their day actually felt they could match any team.
Craig Brown’s side had just taken holders Brazil all the way in the opening day of the France 1998 World Cup.
It was to be another afternoon of glorious failure but the Scots still went into their second game knowing that they had to get a result in their Group A clash with Norway in Bordeaux.
The Norwegians and Morocco had already shared an opening-day point.
Another defeat would have sent Scotland homewards to think again and it was crucial that they took at least a point to take the group to the final games.
Paul Lambert was a mainstay in the side but it was filled with top players such as John Collins, Colin Hendry, Davie Weir and Kevin Gallacher.
However, they were up against a Norwegian side that was also filled with talent and quite a few familiar names to Scottish football over the years, like Tore Andre Flo, Vidar Riseth, Henning Berg, Dan Eggen and Egil Ostenstad.
Lambert said: “We knew we had to take something from the Norway game after we had lost to Brazil.
“It was disappointing to lose that game but we took a lot of confidence from the way we played against Brazil. They were one of the top teams in the world at that point and we pushed them all the way.
“But we still lost and we knew we couldn’t afford to lose to Norway or we would have been all but out. We had a really good team full of top players.”
June 16, 1998 may have been the day Scotland finally put their first point on the board but for Lambert it should have been all three. It was the Norwegians who took first blood with Riseth’s cross providing the assist for Havard Flo to net before Scotland levelled thanks to Craig Burley’s timely lob. Lambert admitted it was a game where Scotland didn’t get what they deserved. The former Celtic midfielder said: “We battered Norway that day. How we drew 1-1, I will never know. We were the better team but they caught us on the counter.
“Vidar Riseth – who I played with at Celtic – swung in a cross and Havard Flo put it away at the back post.
“Their goal was against the run of play but we scored a good one when Davie Weir played it forward and Craig Burley was able to run on and lob it over their keeper.
“We had chances later and their keeper made another save from Craig to deny us the win.
“We were excellent and at the end of the game they were hanging on.”
The point gave Scotland hope but that is all it remained as a talented Morocco team won 3-0 to end our World Cup dream.
It also started a 22-year and counting wait for the national team to get back to a major finals. Lambert said: “If we hadn’t beaten Norway then it might have been different.
“I just can’t believe that is the last time Scotland was at a major finals. That is the biggest disappointment for me.
“You would just love to see Scotland qualify for a major finals again.
“It is a shame we haven’t qualified since 1998.”
We were excellent and at the end of the game Norway were hanging on PAUL LAMBERT