Craig Brown relives Scotland's 1998 World Cup journey

Colin Hendry stood proudly with a ball under an armpit and a pennant in hand. John Collins swaggered back and forth with his chiselled chest on show. Colin Calderwood roared like a caged lion. And, at the back, Darren Jackson loitered, waiting for everyone to leave. Then there was Craig Brown. Taking part in his third World Cup, the Scotland manager poked his head around the dressing room door. With 80,000 fans and a global audience waiting, his side's yellow-clad opponents strode by, arms linked, ready to defend their title. Brown retreated inside for one last battle cry.

"I went in and said, 'guys, I've just seen Brazil holding hands,'" he said. "'They're shitting themselves!'". An eight-year hiatus from the game's biggest stage was at an end, with Scotland opening the 1998 finals against the world champions in Paris. For the Scotland manager, who died aged 82 in 2023, it was the culmination of months of preparation that included hotel hunting, different duvets, a disappearing Andy Goram, a training session with Rod Stewart and a phone call from Sean Connery. What followed wasn't dull either.

Goram, Rod & a call from James Bond

As well as a cooked breakfast, Brown had other things on his plate one morning in May 1998. Scotland were in New Jersey for the final leg of their preparations, with games against Colombia and the United States. Goalkeeper Goram wanted a word. He was done and was leaving the camp despite the manager's best attempts to talk him round.

"To his credit, he spoke to me and sent me a lovely letter saying he had to go for personal reasons," Brown said. "It was a big story, but we were in America. We had been before and it could be a bit of a star-studded affair. Two years earlier, Rod Stewart invited us to his concert at Madison Square Garden. About 5,000 outside couldn't get in. Meanwhile, our boys were up on the stage. He visited us again and we had him take part in training - he coped admirably."

Rod was not the only man to offer Brown and his team their best. "I remember getting a call from Sean Connery," Brown recalled. "The girls at the office would think it was a wind-up. My secretary would say, 'that's Ally McCoist on saying he's Sean Connery'."

Gyms, duvets & French with John Collins

With Jonathan Gould replacing Goram and the injured Gary McAllister part of the staff, Scotland flew to their plush camp in St Remy, a picturesque part of southern France. Brown insisted, "you don't just pick these hotels out of a brochure" and offers an insight into the lengths that were gone to to ensure the place was perfect.

"There was no gym, so we had to build one," he remembered. "Guys like John Collins were obsessed with fitness, so we kitted it out to their requests. We even asked them about the weight of their quilt and the length of the bed they wanted."

A football team descending on a town is one thing, but the world's media following is another. Brown declared Scotland's hotel a no-go for the press pack, with "around 200" journalists packing into the town hall prior to the opener with Brazil.

"Andy Roxburgh got Italian lessons for himself and the staff at the World Cup in 1990," Brown said. "In France, I had John Collins." By the summer of 1998, Collins had spent two years with Monaco and would soon join Everton. "I said to him, 'can you give me some French for my interviews?' and he gave me a phrase that startled the journalists," Brown remembered. "It was 'victoire ou défaite, importe c'est la fete', which translates to 'victory or defeat, the most important thing is the fun'." The fun was just about to begin.

Kilts, flannels & stopping Ronaldo

The stage was set for the main event, but first, the dress rehearsal. Brown, ever a stickler for making sure his players were neat and tidy, led his team off the bus in St Denis on 10 June, 1998 wearing full kilts.