1998 THE GOLDEN YEAR WHEN WE WENT UP AGAINST BRAZIL

Trio recall the halcyon days of Scots gracing World Cup opener

TWENTY years ago, a troupe of Scots travelled to Paris and put on a fashion show that wowed the world. For a few precious minutes haute couture deferred to Highland dress as Craig Brown’s World Cup squad strode into the Stade de France in preparation for the opening match of the 1998 finals. Instantly loved by the cameras, images of the kilted Scots beamed out from millions of television screens and were reproduced many more times over in print publications across the globe.

Tournament favourites Brazil and their golden boy striker Ronaldo would reclaim the limelight but Scotland ended the day in credit not just for their style, but the substance of their performance in the game of their lives.

Brazil won but only by a supermodel-slim margin provided by the good fortune of an own goal.

Two decades on, the Scottish national team is reduced to the role of a touring warm-up act. Alex McLeish’s collection of untried youngsters and B-team contenders have made up the numbers at send-off parties for World Cup qualifiers Peru and Mexico over the past few days and that saddens the class of France ’98.

The two youngest members of the squad were Celtic team-mates Jackie McNamara and Simon Donnelly, who naively assumed they would have plenty more big tournaments to savour. They, along with fellow squad member Darren Jackson, sat down with Sportsmail to chat about the experiences of being at the centre of the world.

Simon Donnelly: ‘The kilts were a well-kept secret. Nobody expected that for the first game of the World Cup, so it was good for effect. Walking out into the stadium, even the Brazilians looked surprised.

‘I just remember that day being so hot. It was sweltering.’

Jackie McNamara: ‘Being a traditional Scotsman, the sweat was running down my legs.’

Darren Jackson: ‘I didn’t tell anyone, not even my family. With social media, you just wouldn’t get away with that now.

‘That was a real good moment. Don’t get me wrong, the game was the main event but to have that feeling of walking out in national dress was special and the memory is, too.’

JM: ‘We were out there early but there were already a lot of supporters in the stadium and all our families, too. It’s amazing to think 20 years has passed.’

SD: ‘That’s the thing, you look at the pictures and everybody is so much younger. I look like my boy Max. We were kids.’

JM: ‘Jacko was a bit older, so that was his last chance at a major tournament.’

DJ: ‘I was 32. I don’t mean this in an arrogant way but we kind of expected to qualify. We were always there.’

JM: ‘As one of the younger players, it never crossed my mind that it would be the last time I would be involved with Scotland at a major tournament.

‘The next World Cup was in Japan and South Korea and, when we didn’t qualify, we felt worst-case scenario we would get to a European Championship.

‘To not qualify for anything since ’98… for the nation it’s been a disaster.’

Under the guidance of the wily Brown, Scotland were automatic qualifiers, edging out Sweden who had made it as far as the semi-finals in the previous World Cup in 1994.

Austria finished as group winners but Scotland accrued a sufficiently healthy points total to finish as the best of nine runners-up, thus avoiding a play-off.

Promising fringe players during the qualifiers, McNamara (24) and Donnelly (23) cemented their places for the finals through their domestic form that saw them play key roles for the Celtic team that halted Rangers’ bid for ten-in-a-row.

Jackson had also been at Celtic that season but underwent brain surgery early in the campaign and, even after making a rapid recovery, never quite managed to persuade Wim Jansen that he was worthy of a regular place in the team.

Nevertheless, Brown was fiercely loyal to those who served their country well. Jackson had scored a crucial away goal against Latvia early in the campaign and was always likely to travel. Likewise Tosh McKinlay, frozen out under Jansen but a dependable left-flank operator for his country.

SD: ‘We had been through a special season with Celtic. After winning the league, we had flown off to play Sporting Lisbon and the World Cup squad was announced on the day we flew back.

‘We were all on tenterhooks waiting on the nod. I remember coming through the airport and one by one we were all getting texts. ‘In the end, there were eight of us.’

DJ: ‘The three of us, Tom Boyd, Jonathan Gould, Lambo (Paul Lambert), Butler (Craig Burley) and Tosh. Tosh and I weren’t regulars for Celtic but we had been consistently involved with Scotland.’

An injury to the Scotland captain, Gary McAllister, meant Jackson was about to be treated to by far the biggest day of his career.

DJ: ‘I had been lucky enough to go to Euro ’96 but I never thought that was about to happen for me.

JM: ‘Has he not mentioned this before? No 10 in the first game of the World Cup against Brazil.’ DJ: ‘Their No 10 was Rivaldo.’ JM: ‘He actually compares himself to Rivaldo!’

DJ: ‘By the way, I was the luckiest guy ever. But for Gary McAllister’s injury, I wouldn’t have got No10 and I wouldn’t have played. It was just amazing for me to start the match.’

Both McNamara and Donnelly were listed among the substitutes but Scotland’s starting XI were barely out of their kilts when they found themselves overwhelmed by an early flourish from their opponents clad in iconic gold.

Brazil took the lead when a Bebeto corner was met by Cesar Sampaio at the near post, the midfielder’s header glancing the ball beyond Jim Leighton.

DJ: ‘Brazil scored after five minutes and at that point you wondered how many it was going to be. But I thought we handled it really well and got ourselves back in the game.

‘They were obviously going to have more of the ball than us but I thought we did all right.’

JM: ‘Even in the qualifiers, the one thing Craig had was a good defensive set-up. We didn’t lose many goals and we always stayed in games.’

DJ: ‘We only lost three goals in the qualifiers.’

JM: ‘We played a back five. Normally, you’d call it 3-5-2 but against Brazil it was really 5-3-2.’

DJ: ‘I played midfield that day but even as a striker you were always asked to defend from the front. Gordon Durie and Kevin Gallacher, what a shift they put in. Especially Jukey (Durie). It was just incredible over the three games.’

SD: ‘When you played up front for Craig, you were expected to chase….’

DJ: ‘… and you would almost always get taken off. Because you just couldn’t do that shift for 90 minutes.’

Scotland stuck determinedly to the job in hand — tracking runners, making tackles and trying to attack with purpose whenever possession turned over. Eventually an opportunity presented itself as Sampaio bundled over Gallacher in the box.

DJ: ‘We defended well but we also did all right with the ball. I don’t think Jim Leighton had too many saves in the game, so we weren’t under too much pressure. But when you lose one after five minutes, you think: “Oh no”.’

JM: ‘All eyes were on Ronaldo going into that tournament — he was the man. But watching Brazil play, it was a collective effort.’

SD: ‘I remember staring at Ronaldo’s silver boots in the tunnel. I had never seen those before.’

DJ: ‘But then you had Rivaldo, Bebeto, Denilson, Dunga, Roberto Carlos and Cafu. The Brazilian team of today is a good side but that was a team of superstars.’

SD: ‘We hung in, got the penalty and John Collins showed a cool head.’

DJ: ‘That’s what Johnny was — so confident. That penalty got us back into the game.’

Somehow Scotland had made it to half-time on level terms. While Brown simply demanded more of the same from his players during the interval, Brazil boss Mario Zagallo was able to draw on a planet-sized piece of good luck as the match swung in the South Americans’ favour through an own goal.

SD: ‘Poor Tom Boyd. Against Brazil you would expect one of those 30-yard pile drivers but that was a really scrappy goal.’

DJ: ‘Jukey had been up and down that side with Cafu all day but he made the goal line, got one across and it has ricocheted off the goalkeeper and then off Boydy into the net. It was a bit like James Milner’s own goal against Roma in the Champions League semi.

‘Boydy was great for Scotland for so many years, so it’s a wee bit unfair that people remember him for that.’

As Scotland retreated from the pitch and on to their Bordeaux base in the south of France, McNamara was to play an important part in Scotland’s next game. His arrival as a substitute paving the way for Burley to move inside from right wing-back to score the equaliser against Norway.

JM: ‘I came on for Darren when it was 1-0 to Norway, Craig Burley went into centre midfield and scored. He had scored 18 goals that season, so it was a good move.’

McNamara retained his place as a starter for the final group game against Morocco in St Etienne but the day was a washout as Scotland lost 3-0. As the players trudged off at the Geoffrey Guichard Stadium, there was plenty of regret yet little sense that a decades-long exile from tournament football had just begun.

Looking back, Donnelly has only fond memories of the competition, even though he did not kick a competitive ball and never would again.

SD: ‘That was my only tournament but for me it was brilliant, from going to the States for the build-up and games against Colombia and the USA to our camp in the south of France. It was first class. We would train in the morning and then sit by the pool relaxing. I could just take in the whole experience. I enjoyed training but also chilling out with the boys in the afternoons. It was just a special time.’

DJ: ‘It was the same at Euro ’96. The big difference now is the technology. Social media and X-Boxes.

‘We never had that, so it meant we sat together, talked and built relationships. It didn’t matter which team you played for.

‘The Celtic and Rangers boys sat together and that played a huge part.’

After two failed campaigns under Gordon Strachan, the baton has now passed to McLeish to try and get Scotland to Euro 2020. If the trip to the Americas has been beset by call-offs, there is evidence to support the theory that the coach has a solid base on which to build.

Scotland have not lost a competitive match since defeat to England at Wembley in November 2016 and showed strong form in the second half of the campaign for this summer’s World Cup in 2018.

Key players in that minor resurgence were Stuart Armstrong and Andy Robertson, both developed at Dundee United under a management team of McNamara, Donnelly and Jackson — and certain to be key players for McLeish moving forward.

Armstrong has Champions League experience with Celtic under his belt, while Robertson played for Liverpool against Real Madrid in the final of club football’s most prestigious tournament last weekend and the trio sense standards are on the rise.

SD: ‘The Scotland team now looks as if it is close. With the young players coming through, it’s probably the most talented we have had in a while.’

DJ: ‘We were lucky because we had so much experience in our day — Gary Mac, Colin Hendry, John Collins and Jim Leighton. ‘Even at Euro ’96, we had Ally McCoist and Andy Goram. They played in Europe every season, so had an insight into the players we were up against.’

JM: ‘It’s about handling pressure. Traditionally we have always been better as underdogs. When we’re favourites we struggle. We need to get back to a tournament and I genuinely think we have the players to do it. It’s about having the belief. The right draw would help, too.’

So much for the future. Next weekend our three conversationalists will gather with their erstwhile team-mates for a weekend of reminiscing and celebration around next Sunday’s 20th anniversary of their kilted adventure in Paris.

DJ: ’98 was the pinnacle for me. I hadn’t won much in my career but within a month I had got the league with Celtic and played at a World Cup against Brazil.’

CELEBRATE the 20th anniversary of the day Scotland opened France ’98 with Brazil. Play golf with Craig Brown and his World Cup squad at Dalmahoy on Saturday or join them for La Reunion dinner next Sunday at Hilton Glasgow. Info and tickets: www.thelongestforty.com/la-reunion or call 07725 850915