Kylian Mbappe hovered in the shadows, only noticeable as the lights flickered off the beaming white number 10 on his broad royal blue back. Just a handful of yards away, Lamine Yamal scanned the scene. Four Colombians huddled together, plotting. In the far corner, Erling Haaland, carrying a plate of chips, returned to Mrs Haaland through the plumes of a smoke machine.
It was Friday night in downtown Miami. The bar on East Flagler Street pulsed with life, dancing to the beat of the World Cup. A giant projector screen showed Belgium against New Zealand, the big tie of the penultimate night of group games. On smaller televisions dotted around the bar, Egypt took on Iran, carrying the dreams of two nations.
“In a Miami bar, Scottish fans watch their 0.07% World Cup hopes dwindle after Egypt draw with Iran.”
In the centre of the floor, five figures stood out – the Scotsmen of the apocalypse. They drank studiously while looking the other way, their gaze barely shifting as the games kicked off thousands of miles away. Scotland’s World Cup hopes stood at 0.07%. Head coach Steve Clarke had given up hope of his team escaping their group, but this particular bunch of Scottish natives clearly had not.
Crippled by a deadly combo of profligacy and self-destruction, Scotland needed snookers. Even John Higgins, the Wizard of Wishaw, would struggle to get them out of this jam. To progress, Clarke’s side needed four fellow third-placed teams to finish on three points with a goal difference worse than -3, or with fewer points.
Until Spain’s victory earlier in the Miami night, every settled group had done the opposite. Now, with Egypt winning, it looked as though the Scots would require two from Saturday’s three unsettled groups to come through for them. A monumentally tall order, but not an impossible one – given the punch of the air from the Scots as Mahmoud Saber turned in Egypt’s opener.
Nine minutes later, as a man in a Premier League top unsuccessfully attempted to charm a young lady a few feet away at the bar, Iran levelled, puncturing the mood at one particular table. The music seemed to get even louder.