As this year’s World Cup got under way, a pub called MacGregors on Shore Street in the Scottish town of Gourock installed two Saltires and two Lion Rampant flags on poles above its front door. The Scottish national side has not advanced past the first round in any of the nine World Cups in which it has appeared, but every time it heads off to compete against the best teams on the planet, the country enters a sort of fever dream of expectation.
Sadly, 2026 was not to be Scotland’s year either. And so, even before crashing out in the tournament’s group stage at the weekend, the nation had switched to its default setting during the second phase of a World Cup summer: England-baiting.
At MacGregors, this is taking the form of supporting the Auld Enemy’s opponents, whoever they may be. In the run-up to England’s game against Ghana in the group stage last week, it added the red, yellow and green flag, complete with a black star, of the west African nation. This was joined by the Panamanian colours before Saturday’s game and yesterday it flew the red diagonal slash on a blue background with yellow star that is the national flag of the Democratic Republic of the Congo – the side England faces this evening.
