What Scotland's Saying

Morning edition

The prevailing feeling this morning is one of complicated anticipation. Scotland are at a World Cup for the first time in a generation, and the public mood sits somewhere between disbelief and the careful management of hope — a posture Scots have refined over decades.

The human cost of the tournament's location is being felt. A number of supporters who had arranged travel and accommodation have had their visa waivers refused at the final stage, leaving them without recourse and without the matches they planned around. The frustration is specific and serious, and it has sharpened a broader unease about FIFA's choice of host, with questions about whether the sport's governing body adequately considered the political climate its players and supporters would be entering.

On the pitch, there is genuine competition for places. Lawrence Shankland has been in persuasive form and is pressing for inclusion in the starting eleven against Haiti on Sunday, though Steve Clarke has given no indication he considers the matter settled. Haiti arrive with their own disruption, a late withdrawal from their squad that may or may not work in Scotland's favour.

Scotland's 3-0 friendly win over a modest opponent drew a committed crowd and offered limited tactical information. Some supporters noted, without embarrassment, that their attention will return fully to club football once the group stage concludes.

The haggis import ban has become an unlikely focal point of national feeling — a small, absurd displacement for anxieties that are harder to name.