Scotland's Italia 90 campaign: Another hard luck story

Luciano Pavarotti's rendition of Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, provided the dramatic soundtrack for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. The aria, meaning 'none shall sleep,' tells of suitors who must solve three riddles to win a princess—failure means death. For Scotland, the parallels were clear: the riddles were how to beat Costa Rica in the opener, then overcome Sweden and Brazil to reach the knockout stage. Even a third-place finish might suffice. But as history shows, a happy ending eluded the Scots once again.

Act One: 'Stop the world, we want to get off'

Costa Rica, World Cup debutants, faced a Scotland side making its fifth consecutive finals appearance. It should have been a mismatch, but Costa Rica struck first. Juan Arnoldo Cayasso's goal early in the second half proved the winner. Scotland head coach Andy Roxburgh recalled the shock: 'This touches a raw nerve. Their coach, Bora Milutinovic, became a good friend. He said, 'You hadn't a clue what we would do.' They played closed-door matches and practiced tactics endlessly. He knew everything about us because our warm-up matches were public.'

Roxburgh added, 'We could have won 3-1 or 4-1. Maurice Johnston had a couple of chances that normally would have ended up in the back of the net.' But Costa Rica goalkeeper Luis Gabelo Conejo thwarted Johnston. Former Scotland midfielder Stuart McCall noted a myth: 'There was an old story that we'd found out they had a really small goalkeeper, so we started with big Alan McInally up front and put in loads of high balls. But he was 6ft 3in and outstanding! Plucking balls out of the air in the 18-yard box.' McCall also recalled being showered with Scotland scarves as he left the pitch, reflecting the Tartan Army's anger. Roxburgh remembered a headline the next day: 'Stop the world, we want to get off,' calling for his sacking.

Act Two: 'Zeroes to heroes'

Pressure mounted on Scotland ahead of their second group match against Sweden on 16 June in Genoa. Both teams had lost their openers—Sweden to Brazil. Roxburgh saw a sign en route to the stadium: 'Don't worry Andy, your P45 is in the post.' He laughed, but in the tunnel, he noticed a difference: 'I saw the boys standing tall, while the Swedes looked nervous. I thought, 'I'm glad I'm with the team in dark blue.''

McCall agreed: 'I've played nearly 1,000 competitive matches, and I genuinely believe two of those were won in the tunnel. One was when I was at Bradford and we beat Wimbledon to stay in the Premiership; the other was that night against Sweden. We had Roy Aitken at the front giving it all the Braveheart stuff, Alex McLeish with his red hair and freckles, Jim Leighton and Robert Fleck had their teeth out. You looked across at the Swedes, tanned Adonises. They looked like athletes; we looked like savages the way we were shouting and bawling.'

Scotland struck early: McCall scored from a Dave McPherson flick-on after 11 minutes. 'I was always deadly from a few inches,' he joked. Johnston converted a penalty for a 2-0 lead. Glenn Stromberg pulled one back for Sweden four minutes from time, but Scotland held on for a 2-1 win, restoring pride and keeping qualification hopes alive.

Act Three: 'Typical Scotland'

Four days later, Scotland faced Brazil in Turin. Sweden played Costa Rica simultaneously. Scotland needed a win or a draw with a favorable result elsewhere. But Brazil proved too strong, winning 1-0. Sweden beat Costa Rica 2-1, meaning both Sweden and Scotland finished with two points, but Sweden advanced on goal difference. Scotland's campaign ended in familiar heartbreak—another hard luck story.