Scotland at the FIFA World Cup Costa Rica, Sweden, and Brazil, but the Scots lost 1–0 to Costa Rica. While they recovered to beat Sweden 2–1 in their second game, they lost to Brazil in their third match 1–0 and were once again eliminated after the first round. Goalkeeper Jim Leighton fumbled a shot that allowed Brazil to score the only goal. Craig Brown guided Scotland to qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, finishing as the best runners-up. Scotland were drawn against holders Brazil in the opening game of the World Cup. John Collins scored from the penalty spot to level the score at 1–1,
1998 FIFA World Cup Group G 1998 FIFA World Cup Group G At the 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four, labelled A–H. The four teams in Group G were England, Romania, Colombia and Tunisia. With wins in their first two games against Colombia and England, followed by a draw against Tunisia, Romania won the group and qualified for the round of 16. England and Colombia were level on points before they played each other in their final match, each having defeated Tunisia and lost to Romania. England, with a better goal difference, only required a draw to advance.