MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- Scotland head coach Steve Clarke fears his team are heading home after they lost 3-0 to Brazil in Miami to leave their chances of making the World Cup knockouts hanging in the balance.
Clarke's side have three points from their three group stage matches. They opened with a 1-0 win over Haiti, but then lost 1-0 to Morocco and fell to Brazil on Wednesday as Vinícius Júnior scored twice and Matheus Cunha added another.
Scotland now face a few days of World Cup purgatory as they wait for other results to see if they'll make the knockouts as one of the eight best third-placed sides.
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Clarke was visibly frustrated at the manner of Scotland's defeat, and bemoaned the errors which led to Brazil's three goals. Talking on the BBC, Clarke said: "We created chances but it wasn't enough. Let's be honest the best team won.
"In the first four or five minutes we passed the ball well and then made a mistake. You cannot do that at this level because it puts you on the back foot and it becomes a long night
"For sure I think we're going home."
Captain John McGinn said on the BBC: "Gutted obviously. We lose poor goals at poor times against a team that can punish you with quality. We had a few chances but we've got to wait now. The lads are gutted, we fell short on quality tonight but we gave it absolutely everything. The lads are empty now. It's unlikely [to qualify] but we'll wait and see."
Talking in his news conference post-match, Clarke said the team didn't play as well as they can.
"They're playing a top quality team and we gave them the first two goals, and the third goal too," he added. "They missed a few chances, and Angus [Gunn] had to make some saves.
"We tried to create something in the second half -- we created one or two chances. When you look at their attacking play compared to us, there's no comparison."
Clarke was asked whether he feels this needs to give Scottish football a wake-up call as to how they can match this quality of technique and athleticism.
"I think the short answer to that is yes," he said. "When you see the physicality, power and technique of Brazil and Morocco -- you see we have to do something about it. We have to be better at producing young players that can grace the world stage."
And when it was put to Clarke to give Scottish fans advice on whether they should stay in the U.S., hoping their team would make the final 32, he said: "That's not in my remit. The fans are fantastic. They've been brilliant but don't forget this group of players brought these fans to America. Or else we'd be watching the World Cup on the television.
"The fans appreciate what this group of players have done for them. They've had a great time and they wouldn't be here without this group of players and that's an important point."