Updated: Borders sporting hero John Collins calling on current Scottish national football team to inspire future generations of players at 2026 FIFA World Cup
Borders football hero John Collins is calling on manager Steve Clarke’s current Scottish national team to offer inspiration to future generations of players in the same way that he was inspired by Archie Gemmill’s goals at 1978’s FIFA World Cup finals in Argentina.
Gemmill, now 79, scored twice during a 3-2 group-stage win against the Netherlands in Mendoza in June of that year as then gaffer Ally MacLeod’s team bowed out of the competition, and the second of those goals, on 68 minutes, has long been acclaimed as one of the best in the histories of both Scottish football and the cup itself, having seen the then Nottingham Forest midfielder go past three Dutch defenders prior to lobbing the ball over opposition goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed and into the net.
Though only a consolation victory as MacLeod’s men had been in need of a three-goal winning margin to make it to the second group stage after losing 3-1 to Peru and drawing 1-1 with Iran in their two prior pool fixtures, the performance that secured that result has been cited as an inspiration by generations of Scottish footballers since, Collins among them.
The Galashiels-born 58-year-old – a midfielder for the likes of Hibernian, Celtic, Monaco and Everton during his playing days and currently an ambassador for Scottish Lowland Football League East outfit Gala Fairydean Rovers – collected 58 Scotland caps between 1988 and 1999, three of them at the 1998 world cup in France, and he credits that latter Gemmill goal, one of eight he scored in 43 appearances for his country from 1971 to 1981, as one of his motivations while learning to play football in his home-town five decades ago.
In a new short film shot at Fairydean’s Netherdale Stadium home ground by East Lothian’s Hack Studios, he recalls watching as a child as Kenny Dalglish and Gemmill at the double scored against the Dutch, with Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep replying past Scottish No 1 Alan Rough.
“At the 1978 Argentina world cup, Archie Gemmill scored that amazing goal for Scotland,” Collins – scorer of a penalty against Brazil at the Stade de France, near Paris, 20 years later – recounts.
“I was ten years of age, sitting on my sofa at home watching and thinking ‘wow’, how good would it be to play for Scotland at a world cup finals, and I was one of the lucky ones that achieved his dream.
“I’m no longer a player but I’m a supporter, and what do I want now? I want the team to inspire the next generation.
“The dream still goes on for every young boy out there and life’s about working hard to achieve your dream. Anything’s possible.
“I’d like to wish Stevie and all his squad all the very best – what an opportunity we’ve got. Come on, Scotland.”
Their current world cup campaign in the USA is Scotland’s ninth and their first since Collins and the likes of Colin Hendry and Kevin Gallacher lined up for manager Craig Brown’s squad as they lost 2-1 to Brazil and 3-0 to Morocco in Saint-Etienne and drew 1-1 with Norway in Bordeaux 28 years ago.
Scotland, currently ranked 38th in the world, haven’t made it out of their pools in eight previous attempts but they’ll be hoping to rip up the form-book and secure progress to the knockout stages as they take on two of their 1998 predecessors’ opponents, Brazil and Morocco, aspiring to follow in Collins’ footsteps by netting against the former, after getting off to a winning start against Haiti on Sunday, by 1-0 in Foxborough in Massachusetts.
They play the Moroccans this coming Friday, also in Foxborough, and the Brazilians in Miami in Florida next Wednesday, June 24, with kick-offs at 11pm our time.
Among Clarke’s squad of 26 are four current players at old clubs formerly home to Collins – Hibs’ Grant Hanley, Everton’s Nathan Patterson and Celtic’s Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney.
Making up the rest of the 62-year-old’s travelling party are their fellow defenders Jack Hendry, Aaron Hickey, Dom Hyam, Scott McKenna, Andy Robertson and John Souttar; goalkeepers Craig Gordon, Angus Gunn and Liam Kelly; midfielders Ryan Christie, Findlay Curtis, Lewis Ferguson, Ben Gannon-Doak, Billy Gilmour, John McGinn, Kenny McLean and Scott McTominay; and forwards Che Adams, Lyndon Dykes, George Hirst, Lawrence Shankland and Ross Stewart.
Hack Studio’s video can be seen via Fairydean’s Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/galafairydeanrovers