It was hot in Miami. How hot? Well, that morning, The Irish Times had spent 20 minutes sitting in a deck chair outside its apartment drinking coffee and reading its phone. Under the scorching Florida sun, it found that the most comfortable position was to lean acutely forward so its baseball cap blocked the sun from more of its face. When it got to its feet, The Irish Times found that the front of its khaki shorts was stained with a large circular wet patch. Initial dismay was tempered by the realisation that the dark patch had formed from the accumulated sweat that had rolled down its breasts and belly over the previous 20 minutes.That was at 8am. By kick-off at 6pm, the sun was hidden behind thick cloud but the heat and humidity was still heavy in the air. Actually to run in conditions like this seemed almost unthinkable. On Tuesday afternoon the Tartan Army had marched down Ocean Drive, past the famous pastel art-deco facades now housing tourist trap bars hawking $50 cocktails. The Scotland fans have been one of the sensations of the World Cup, but here, the day before their third match, their mood seemed a little low. A little ragged, a little leggy, an army that had given its all in Boston and had now been on the march a little too long. Spirits were flagging, the first symptoms of homesickness beginning to spread through the ranks. After watching Scotland’s disastrous defensive display in the first half at the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium, you felt some of the players might also be longing for the steely skies and cool rains of home. We were only seven minutes in when left centre-back Scott McKenna, on the ball 20 yards from his own goal, delayed just a little too long before trying to play it past Rayan. The 19-year-old Bournemouth winger block-tackled his pass across goal to the unmarked Vinícius Jr, who made easy work of sidestepping the wrong-footed Angus Gunn and tapping into the empty net. It was the sort of ridiculous goal that plagues the game in the 2020s, as coaches insist on their defenders taking risks in build-up play that would have been considered insane all throughout the first century and a bit of football history. Brazil's Vinícius Jr (left) and Scotland's Kieran Tierney battle for the ball during the Fifa World Cup 2026 Group C match at Miami Stadium, Florida. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.