I was lucky enough, during the Scotland match, to be playing rugby (against Portobello, and winning 62-3, no less). But I knew the result before I asked the barman in the clubhouse afterwards.
I was was not in the least astonished that we lost. Nor was I even slightly suprised, beforehand, to see the joyous wave of confidence upon which we surfed into the game. The Byelorussians were unworthy of consideration: they were as good as beaten. We would do our part and then hope that the Norwegians slipped up somewhere along the line. Past managers like Craig Brown were wheeled out to declare that momentum was with us, the opposition an average team at best who were in a state of disarray within their camp.
I remember 1978. And '82 and '86 and '90 come to that. And '98 and all the European cups in between. I don't remember '74 but I'm pretty clear on what happened. We choked. We always do against anyone we should have a decent chance against. Italy and Norway were surefire victories, due to low expectations. But the second we played someone we thought we should beat, we were done for.
Anyway, I don't understand why we were so dismissive of the Byelorussians. After all, their main strikers play for Sampdoria and a little outfit called Arsenal. Our starting striker plays for Wolves.
As the biennial saying goes: it is no longer mathematically possible for us to qualify.