The Five Greatest Scotland Football Teams

The Scotland vintage of 2013 has been described as the worst ever. There have so far been no riots in protest at this verdict.

Scotland are bottom of a group that includes three teams that were once part of Yugoslavia. Yugoslavia, of course, were a team that Scotland could beat 6-1, at Hampden (in 1985) since one asks. The scorers were Davie Cooper, Kenny Dalglish, Maurice Johnston, Paul Sturrock, Charlie Nicholas and Graeme Souness.

Now we have diminished to a side that most teams in the world would welcome in a group. In the past two campaigns, we have beaten Lithuania and Lichtenstein. In this campaign we have beaten no-one.

It is tempting to regard this humble station as Scotland's place in the world but once it was not so. This is a country who declined to participate in World Cups and then failed to qualify only because they came up against the best in group matches. It is also a country that went to a World Cup and returned unbeaten.

This is also the nation that invented football as a passing game. And how that has come back to hurt us . . .

It is the nation that through engineering, railways, working on behalf of the Empire plc or taking Christianity to the world brought football to the forefront of world sport.

The greatest game in the world owes a debt to the greatest wee nation in the world.

But that was then and this is now. As the sun sets on another campaign, let us remember that once we were kings . . . or at least princes with ambition. Here are five of the best of our teams.

5. What's the score? The 1881 team that beat England 6-I at the Kennington Oval on March 12, 1881.

Scouting report: John Smith scored a hat trick as Scotland show a development of the game that was far beyond the English. The visitors excelled at passing and dribbling and left the English flummoxed by the end. This was the era of the Scottish "professional", the time when every club had to have someone north of the border in their team. Basically, the same Scotland team beat England 5-1 in 1882. Captain was Andrew Watson, born in British Guiana who only played three times for Scotland, all victories. He later became the first black football administrator.

View from the terracing: England? Can we play you every week?

4. What's the score? England 2 Scotland 3, Wembley, April 11, 1967.

Scouting report: England had won some sort of cup the year before, the Jules Rimet something or other. Scotland then delivered a Caledonian thrashing of 3-2. With Jim Baxter playing keepy-uppy and nutmegging Alan Ball and Nobby Stiles. Glyn Edwards of The Herald reported: "I shall cherish for a long time the memory of Baxter slowing down the game to almost walking pace, insouciantly juggling the ball with instep, forehead and knees while Stiles, no more than a couple of yards away, bobbed up and down, unsure whether to make his challenge at knee or head level."

This victory, of course, made Scotland world champions though, bafflingly, FIFA declined to ratify this.

View from the terracing: Does this mean we make Mexico '70 as cup holders?

3. What's the scores?

Spain 2 Scotland 6, Bernabeu, June 13, 1963; Scotland 3 Czechoslovakia 2, September 26, 1961.

Scouting report: Glance at the names and then sigh. The Spaniards were given a doing but the match against Czechoslovakia was typical of Scotland's fortunes. First, the Czechs went on to contest the World Cup final in Chile, being defeated by Brazil. Second, they just qualified at the expense of Scotland after a play-off when Ian McColl's side was sorely depleted through injury. The Scots team was packed with great players in forward areas. Denis Law and Ian St John stand out but John White was exceptionally creative and the wingers were fast and dangerous. But those who watched the collapse in Novi Sad may be reflecting on the centre-backs. This was an era when Billy McNeill had to play full-back to allow Ian Ure a start. Ronnie McKinnon of Rangers was also about to emerge . . .

View from the terracing: Czechoslovakia are now Czech Republic and Slovakia. But whatever happened to Spain?

2. What's the score? England 1 Scotland 5, Wembley, March 31, 1928.

Scouting report: Scotland played a forward line that could have left the Pavilion panto with just two dwarves to cast. Alex Jackson, at a towering 5ft 7in, was the biggest of the front five. The Herald reported: "Want of height was looked upon as a handicap to the Scots' attack but the Scottish forwards had the ability and skill of such high degree to make their physical shortcomings of little consequence." Jimmy McMullan, the captain, said: "I want to emphasise that all our forwards are inherently clever." Thus, the small but intelligent Scottish forward has lived on, if only in memory . . .

View from terracing: It should have been 10, it should have been 10, you lucky Anglo-Saxons, it should have been 10.

1. What's the score? Scotland 2 Czechoslovakia 1, Hampden, September 26, 1973.

Scouting report: Willie Morgan comes inside and hits the ball into the area with the outside of his right foot. Joe Jordan makes the diagonal run and heads the ball inside the near post. Scotland have qualified for the World Cup. They go to Germany and defeat Zaire, draw with Brazil, draw with Yugoslavia and come home. We had the impertinence to be disappointed. The strength of the team can be illustrated by the names of the front two of Law and Dalglish, the best two Scottish players ever. Arguably. There was a depth to the squad, too. When the team went to Germany, Martin Buchan came in for George Connelly and Peter Lorimer played on the right-hand side. Jimmy Johnstone was on the bench. Read that as many times as one likes, but it is true. Danny McGrain was the best full-back in the world and Billy Bremner was one of the best midfielders. The rest were simply very, very good.

View from the terracing: When will we see their like again?