For 28 agonising years, Scotland fans have watched every World Cup from their sofas — bottles of Irn-Bru in hand, hearts full of what-ifs. France 1998 was the last time the dark blue shirt graced the global stage. Now, with the 2026 tournament just days away, Steve Clarke’s side rolled into New Jersey on Friday night and served notice to the world: Scotland are back, they mean business, and Bolivia just happened to be in the way.
The final scoreline — four goals, zero conceded, all scored before half-time — told the story of an afternoon where Scotland were simply merciless. The Tartan Army inside the Sports Illustrated Stadium, sweating it out in the New Jersey summer heat, had absolutely nothing to worry about. This was a clinic.
Goal by Goal — A First-Half Masterclass
It took exactly five minutes for Scotland to draw first blood. Andy Robertson’s delivery from the left was met by a measured, assured header from Lawrence Shankland — the Rangers striker timing his run perfectly and planting the ball into the corner. After a brace against Curacao just days earlier, Shankland is in the form of his life and staking an unmistakable claim for the starting shirt against Haiti.
The second goal, on 23 minutes, was built on beautiful combination play. Shankland dropped deep to lay the ball into the path of Scott McTominay, who arrived with conviction and squeezed a low finish past the helpless Bolivian keeper. It wasn’t his cleanest strike — the keeper perhaps should’ve done better — but milestones don’t ask for style marks. McTominay was making his 70th international appearance. The occasion was marked with a goal. Of course it was.
“Fantastic problems. I’ve got fantastic problems to deal with before the Haiti game. Good problems to have.”— Steve Clarke, Scotland manager
If the first two goals came from composed build-up play, goals three and four were electric. The standout performer of the entire match — 23-year-old winger Ben Gannon-Doak — was tearing Bolivia’s right flank to shreds all afternoon. His pace and directness caused havoc all evening, and it was he who set up Ché Adams for both second-half goals. First, he cut the ball across the face of goal for an unmarked Adams to blast home on 30 minutes. Then, right on the stroke of half-time, Adams forced the ball over the line at the second attempt after his initial shot was blocked. Four goals. Done. Dusted. Before the break.
A Word on Bolivia
In the interest of fairness — Bolivia were rank rotten. The South Americans, who had just missed out on the World Cup themselves after a defeat to Iraq in the intercontinental play-offs, looked like a team with absolutely nothing riding on the occasion. Their oldest outfield starter was 28. The heat had clearly sapped whatever motivation remained. As one observer put it, Bolivia looked like a team that would rather have been on another planet than in New Jersey. Scotland were sharp. Their opponents were not.
What’s Next
Steve Clarke may have called them “fantastic problems” — but heading into a World Cup having scored eight goals across two warm-up wins, with a strike partnership firing and the entire squad competing for places, there has never been a better time to be a Scotland fan. The 28-year wait is over. The party starts June 14.
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