AIBU to be English, but really really want Scotland to win the world cup.

[fruitandbarley]

After decades of disappointment I've pretty much given up on watching England with any hope.

I have Scottish in laws and love the place anyway but after seeing all the videos of the tartan army in Boston I'd so love for them to win ( however unlikely that may be!)

Why? We’re tiny. You have 10 times the population we have.

The English Premier League is widely regarded as the best in the world. That’s why some of your Scottish players choose to play there rather than for Scottish league team right? Can’t be all that bad here in England.

I was talking about the Tartan Army, not the team itself.

England is tiny too in comparison to so many other counties.

I think that’s possibly true of Scots abroad in general. You get a much warmer welcome in lots of countries. I think the Scot’s are thought of as more like the Irish, loveable rogues who like a drink which the tartan army lives up to.

Ok if the players are loved…the fans are the problem? Be a big help if loads of them didn’t go and cause trouble abroad I guess.

I don't think there is any bitterness against the actual team. It is the English pundits and media that annoy peoole.

You're right, England are much better known on the world stage. The Tartan Army are known to be great supporters worldwide for those who follow football. True, we don't get out and about much but when we do we are welcomed and host countries are happy to see us.

We do have some bitter Scots that let us down but there are far more nasty English supporters who have real venom. Those videos were not banter, Piers Morgan was fine. We've always been rivals and that is ok, we don't have to be horrible about it though.

I would imagine like football fans from any country- there’s good and bad in all, surely?

Oh dear.

Which helps to explain why they haven't won the world cup since 1966.

I'm not sure what your point is?

Sure but we are talking about Scotland and England.

I was just responding to @Differentforgirls
England do well despite being a relatively small nation.
@Differentforgirls was using the population of Scotland as a reason why they don’t.
No sympathy required- proud of our English football team- they’re genuinely competitive on the world stage- for such a small county it’s quite the feat.

Yes and a Scottish Team won the European Cup a year later.

And yet Italy and France have both won the world cup twice since 1966 with similar populations. Germany three times with a population a bit higher but not hugely so. Argentina three times with a smaller population.

So not that well.

Yeah it’s all anecdotal though really.
Stats depend on how they’re recorded and as England have been present at more tournaments and for deeper into the tournament, there will be a lot more fans and for a lot longer supporting- so logically more total arrests etc.
Scotland haven’t had too many international games in comparison so would logically have fewer arrests. No real way to compare. Football generally does attract some hooligan types unfortunately.

The Scottish and English male fans generally like a lot of alcohol so are likely similar when pissed. I can’t see why English men would be inherently more violent than Scottish men.

You have 10 times our population. I have no idea what you don't understand about that.

Unfortunately since Scotland are worse than England on the international stage, you would be wasting your time 😂

@JollyGreenSleeves

Scotland qualified for Euro 2020 as well, 3 of the past 4 major International Tournaments.

As for players with International profiles -

Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour won Serie A 2024/25 in Italy playing with Napoli, McTominay was named Serie A Player of the Year

Lewis Ferguson plays for Bologna and was also high in the Player of the Year voting a couple of seasons back

Josh Doig plays for Sassuolo, also in Italy, Keiron Bowie at Verona, Aaron Hickey also played in Italy before returning to the UK

Jack Hendry currently plays in Saudi Arabia, a money league which has attracted premium talent from all over Europe and South America

Che Adams has been playing in Serie A with Torino for the past couple of seasons and scoring regularly.

Scott McKenna also plays in Croatia with Dinamo Zagreb having previously played in both Spain and Denmark

Ryan Gauld plays in the MLS with Vancouver Whitecaps

These are just the players either in the current WC Squad or who have recently been capped, and doesn't include the dozens of other Scots playing in various European, Middle-eastern, and Far Eastern Leagues.

Contrast that with the picture down south where English players are apparently totally uninterested in testing themselves in foreign climes, and no, it's not because they have the richest league in the world, because English players very rarely moved abroad anyway even before the advent of the Premier League.

Geographically England is not massive but population wise it’s on a par with France/ Italy and a larger population than most football playing nations of Europe / South America with the exceptions of Brazil and Germany. Lower population countries do struggle as they have smaller talent pools.

Far more English louts than Scots. We're talking about different things.

Up here we can have trouble between Celtic and Rangers due to factors such as sectarianism although it is getting better. Not all fans but a reasonable number at times. The Tartan Army are completely different, they are amazing and just so happy to see their home team do well. We are not deluded, we never play very well but we try!

England have shown a strong team for the past few years and as a proud Scot have always supported them as I see them as one of my other home teams alongside Wales and Ireland. I don't go with the rivalry but understand I'm in the minority. I dont mind the ABE as long as it's not malicious. When it is done nastily from either side then I can't tolerate it whether that's from us or the English.

I really hope both our teams do well. If Scotland come home now they and their supporters can hold their heads high. Same for the English team but not their supporters if that's how they are behaving.

Oh come on. It’s not just a numbers game and you know it.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I would be embarrassed too at trying to argue your point.

I wonder why? Could it be because your 10 times bigger than we are?

Worse - maybe in terms of wins/goals.

In terms of reputation? Not so much.

Size ain’t everything- look at Uruguay!

Anyway I wish them all well- enjoyed watching the Scots against Morocco- especially the young one Ben Gannon-Doak.

England's record in International Tournament football is utterly pitiful given their population and resources. They are undeniably the biggest long-term underachievers in world football.

Fewer WC wins than Uruguay, fewer European Championships than the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, Portugal

Fewer Final appearances than Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, Belgium, Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic, Netherlands, and Hungary

This is before you even look at the number of Confederation Continental Championships won by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay etc, England don't even have one.

The have the same number of WC Final appearances as Sweden, Czechoslovakia, and Croatia, hardly behemoths, and Croatia has only been around since 1990