Tartan Army cancel flights as Scotland eye a piece of World Cup history
Scottish football fans have cancelled flights home from the US as the Tartan Army dare to dream of reaching the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time.
Others who had already returned home are flying out again ahead of tonight’s final Group C fixture, against Brazil, even if they don’t have match tickets or hotels.
Scotland’s victory in their opening game against Haiti in Boston means that they could still reach the last 32 in their first World Cup since 1998 if they lose to Brazil in Miami.
“I have friends who have cancelled flights home after the first game, other friends who have now come back, having been home already,” fan Jamie Murdoch told Morning Wire from the US.
“I’ve got a friend who was at the first game, had to go back for a wedding or something, and thought ‘actually, hold up, I’m coming back’. Everyone’s got this fear of missing out.
“I can’t tell you how many people are over here who haven’t even got tickets or any sort of accommodation. They just literally saved their money over the last 28 years to get a one-way flight out and hope that it’s great fun out here.”
Scotland fans in kilts take over Boston – and Nantucket ferry
The Tartan Army have won hearts with their partying in Boston, where 15,000 Scots attended a baseball game and received a message of thanks from Red Sox bosses.
“If you walked around Boston, any part of it, you couldn’t walk more than 5m without seeing a Scot – we’ve taken over completely,” said Murdoch.
“We’ve been able to visit Nantucket, off Cape Cod on the east coast, and on the ferry there and back there were like 100 Scots in kilts. It was crazy.”
Beating Haiti gave Scotland a huge chance to progress and “changed the whole atmosphere for the last two weeks”, said Murdoch. He hopes to return if they reach the knockouts.
“I have already got a flight back booked for the day after the Brazil game,” he added. “However, if we were to get through, I would almost certainly come out again – unless it was somewhere rural in Mexico where I just couldn’t get to with a direct flight.
“No one knows where we’ll be next – we could be in New York, Guadalajara, Canada, it could be anywhere – but our fans will find a way to make flights.”