Duncan Ferguson’s Scotland lost 1-0 to Morocco in Foxborough after two penalty appeals were turned down. The result leaves Steve Clarke’s side needing their final Group C match against Brazil to decide whether they reach the last 32.
John McGinn and Scott McTominay
Morocco led after 70 seconds when Ismail Saibari scored, and Scotland never recovered the only goal they needed to erase. The decisive issue, though, came later: John McGinn was brought down by Neil El Aynaoui shortly after the restart and appealed for a penalty, then Scott McTominay went down under another challenge from El Aynaoui and that appeal was waved away too.
Steve Clarke called the McGinn incident “50-50” and said, “Everybody is talking about the Scott McTominay [penalty incident].” Ryan Christie went further, saying, “The one on McGinn I had a pretty good look at,” and, “I thought it could definitely be given.” Lewis Ferguson added, “The first thing I thought was foul.”
Roy Keane and VAR
Roy Keane took the opposite view on ITV. “I don't think it's a penalty, he's looking to go down,” he said. “It's a physical game.” He also said, “The referee let a lot go in the game, players were going down which would normally be a free-kick,” and added, “So the referee had that attitude throughout the game especially in the box.”
Kris Boyd backed the decision on McTominay, saying, “For me, the McTominay one wasn't a penalty.” On McGinn, he said, “The one on John McGinn I've seen given,” before adding, “Once it wasn't given on the field, it was never going to be overturned.” VAR did not change either on-field call, which left Scotland to live with a defeat decided by one goal and two appeals that never moved beyond the referee’s original view.
Brazil in Group C
Scotland have just over a 70 per cent chance of reaching the last 32 according to Opta’s Supercomputer predictions, but the route now runs through Brazil. A win sends Scotland through in first or second place, a draw leaves them at least third with a four-point tally and hugely likely to progress as one of the eight best-placed sides, while a loss would leave goal difference in play for the final ranking.
That is the practical picture after Foxborough: the margin for error has gone, and Scotland’s place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout bracket still depends on what they produce against Brazil.
