As forensics prepare to start a post-mortem into another botched attempt by Scotland to progress from the group stage at a major finals, a former England striker has managed to hit the nail on the head regarding the reasons for Scottish football's ills – according to BBC Scotland, which has taken a close look at Ian Wright's claims.
Rather than pointing the finger at PlayStations, 'no ball games' signage or rising pitch hire costs, the Arsenal great called for a "bolder, braver vision" and suggested "somebody is letting down Scotland on a massive scale".
“Ian Wright says 'somebody is letting down Scotland on a massive scale' as World Cup hopes fade.”
His reasoning stemmed from undervalued broadcasting deals to unfulfilled potential – a theory that now carries extra weight with Steve Clarke's side's World Cup hopes hanging by a thread after picking up three points from their three group matches.
Wright leaned on comparisons with Norway, a country with a similar population to Scotland's five million. Like the Scots, Norway failed to feature in any World Cup between 1998 and this summer. They have played in the Euros once – in 2000 – while Scotland have reached the past two after being absent from the tournament since 1996.
But where the similarities end is on the pitch: Norway, spearheaded by world-class Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, with elite-level Arsenal playmaker Martin Odegaard pulling the strings, are heading to the knockout phase of the 2026 World Cup, the third time they have managed to do so in the competition's history. Scotland, meanwhile, are increasingly likely to be heading for an early exit.
Former Celtic forward Wright looked at the domestic games in both countries, suggesting Norwegian clubs attract average domestic crowds of between 6,000 and 7,000 per week, while in Scotland that number shoots up to 16,000. Those comments are backed up by Transfermarkt's attendance data, with an average of just over 7,000 fans attending Norwegian top-flight games each week across the 2025 season, and just about 16,000 for Scottish Premiership matches last campaign – a number heavily inflated by the crowds Celtic and Rangers attract.
A Uefa report published in September last year revealed that for the third year in a row, football fans across Scotland recorded significantly higher top-flight attendances per capita than any other league in Europe. Yet despite that passionate support, the national team continues to fall short on the world stage, leading Wright to ask why the potential is not being fulfilled.
The question now, as Scotland's World Cup hopes fade from 42% to 5.26% according to BBC Scotland's analysis, is whether anyone in power will listen to the former England striker's call for a bolder, braver vision before it is too late.