Boston has been overtaken by Ball Boys. For almost four decades, the DC Thomson comic character – a wee football-obsessed lad who couldn’t kick a can down a street without imagining he’d scored the winner in a World Cup final – has found his real-life counterpart in the Tartan Army. They have charmed every cop and benefited every local business, a happy whirlwind that will be missed when it blows out of town. But before the exodus, there’s a job to be done.
Last weekend, Scotland played their most important international in 28 years against Haiti – a game that put every heart sideways but ultimately sparked the party to end all parties in the city they call Beantown. Now comes the ever bigger one. Against Morocco, a draw would almost certainly send Steve Clarke’s side into the knockout stages for the first time in the nation’s 154-year history. Even a narrow defeat might be enough, given the permutations for the best third‑placed qualifiers.
“Scotland need a draw against Morocco to reach the World Cup knockout stages for the first time.”
The midfield head‑to‑head between Scott McTominay and Ayyoub Bouaddi could prove vital. Clarke is expected to change his system, according to reports, as he searches for the win that would secure knockout tournament football for the first time. Scotland will need their best display since Clarke took over to thwart a dynamic Morocco side.
History hangs over the occasion. When Scotland played England in 1872 – the first international match ever – they were captained by Robert Gardner, a Queen’s Park man with a full Victorian moustache. A 0‑0 draw then would go down a storm now. One can imagine Gardner in football heaven, whiskers twitching as he watches the action from the Boston Stadium, a step up from the arenas he knew.
Manager and players have made no secret of their target: becoming the first Scotland team to escape a group at a major championship. They have laid it on the line. Now they must deliver. The Ball Boys, full‑time dreamers and relentless ambassadors, have done their part. The rest is down to the men in dark blue.