Scotland do it again...

SCOTLAND'S World Cup dream came to an end last night when they were beaten 3-0 by Morocco in St Etienne and were eliminated from the tournament.

It was the eighth time in eight attempts that the Scots have failed to progress beyond the first round and once again the "home before the postcards" adage is ringing true.

The result will be hardest felt by the thousands of travelling fans in the Tartan army. The Scotland coach, Craig Brown, said he was particularly upset for the fans, who have been held up as an example of how to enjoy the world's largest sporting event to the full without spoiling it.

He was unhappy with the way his team had lost. "You can't give goals away at this level as we did and hope to survive."

Even had Scotland won, they would have been eliminated. In Marseilles, Brazil - who had already qualified for the second stage - were beaten 2-1 by Norway, who secured the second slot into the next round. In stark contrast to the scenes in Paris and Bordeaux, the Tartan army were outnumbered by rival supporters as they watched the match live at the big screen in St Etienne's main square.

Most of the 15,000 Scotland fans managed to get black market tickets for the match after hearing the whole game was not going to be broadcast. But with an hour until kick-off, a Swiss marketing firm ISL, after negotiations with the French authorities, decide to beam the match to supporters.

More than 3,000 heartbroken fans trooped away from Glasgow Green last night still defiant after chanting and singing in unison with the Tartan army in the St Etienne. One of them, Ronnie, 43, said: "It was yet another glorious defeat."

TV ratings war, page 10

Match report, page 32