Scotland are on the brink at the 2026 World Cup, and Nottingham Forest promotion hero Scott McKenna endured a torrid night against Brazil.
The 3-0 defeat against the South American outfit has ensured a nervy few days for Scotland, who must now wait to see if they progress as one of eight third-placed teams.
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McKenna was caught in possession by Bournemouth star Rayan in the first seven minutes, gifting Vinicius Junior a tap-in to start the game.
He scored again later, with Matheus Cunha also getting his name on the score sheet later in the piece.
The performance of ex-Forest man McKenna came under scrutiny, however, and the national media went to town on his display.
Scotland media deliver verdict on Scott McKenna’s performance
The Daily Record could only muster a 4/10 for his performance and said: “Nightmare entrance to the tournament. Centre-back returned from injury to replace Grant Hanley, and a horrific mistake gifted an opener to Vinicius when Rayan picked his pocket in his own box. Unable to take a chance to atone with a miscued header at the other end from McGinn’s delivery. Blocked late effort from Gabriel, but the damage was done.”
The Scotsman went one further and delivered him a 3/10, with a short and not so sweet assessment which read: “First World Cup start after recovering from injury. Made a bad error when dithering on the ball for the opener. Unfortunately, set the tone.”
TalkSPORT also scored him a 5/10, and given that he came into this tournament not a regular starter, it will be fascinating to see what part he now has to play on the international stage in the future.
McKenna was magnificent for Forest during the promotion-winning season of 2021/22, and although that period might have been a highlight of his career, this moment against Brazil will have almost certainly proved a huge low.
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