I had seen Archie Gemmill's goal against Holland countless times – long before Ewan McGregor memorialised it in Trainspotting, creating a few seconds of Scottish celluloid nostalgia.
But Mexico 1986, eight years after Gemmill’s demon dribble in Argentina, was the first World Cup Finals I had watched live. As a nine-year-old, my hopes were high. I’d grown up thinking Scotland were the world’s greatest team – a 1-0 win against England a year earlier probably had something to do with it. Upon learning England in 1966 had won the World Cup my idealistic schoolboy response was to ask: “How many times have Scotland won it?”
Instead of glory, we had never made it through the first round was the disappointing truth. In Mexico, I thought, this stain would be removed. Along with my father and brothers I had stayed up late to see us lose our first game 1-0 to Denmark. Despite dominating much of the game we had failed to score (the Scottish disease). The insult of Preben Elkjær’s winner was compounded by Charlie Nicholas being scythed down and injured late on.
So expectations were low as we lined up against West Germany, as the country then was. In the 18th minute the dream came alive. An inch perfect pass put Gordon Strachan through. The angle looked difficult. He couldn’t could he? And he did. The screamer Strachan sent past Harald Schumacher almost knocked the German goalkeeper off his feet.
We were 1-0 up against one of the tournament favourites. This was more like it. Capping the moment Strachan performed a humorous, if not very agile, goal celebration. A diminutive five foot five inches, he opted not to jump the then wooden advertising hoardings surrounding the pitch as many scorers had done in the tournament. Strachan instead lifted his leg on to one such board, smiled at the Scottish fans behind the goal and looked on as the Tartan Army was going wild. So were we at home.
And just as quickly – five minutes in this case - we fell back to earth, as Rudi Voller equalised. A defensive mix-up saw Klaus Allofs finish us off just after half time. Looking back, it all seems familiar; we Scots have a habit of getting our consolation goal in first. A 0-0 draw against Uruguay – a match remembered only for 90 minutes of savage tackling that after 56 seconds saw one South American hatchet man achieve the fastest sending off in World Cup history - saw us eliminated.
The disappointment was big, but familiar. But Strachan’s golden moment lives on.
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My favourite World Cup moment: Zidane's night of genius and violence
The National's World Cup 2018 coverage
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE
1 Man City 26 20 3 3 63 17 63
2 Liverpool 25 17 6 2 64 20 57
3 Chelsea 25 14 8 3 49 18 50
4 Man Utd 26 13 7 6 44 34 46
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5 West Ham 26 12 6 8 45 34 42
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6 Arsenal 23 13 3 7 36 26 42
7 Wolves 24 12 4 8 23 18 40
8 Tottenham 23 12 4 8 31 31 39
FROM%20THE%20ASHES
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
More Expo 2020 Dubai pavilions:
RESULTS
6.30pm UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Final Song, Christophe Soumillon (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
Winner Almanaara, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
7.40pm Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Grand Argentier, Brett Doyle, Doug Watson.
8.15pm Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Major Partnership, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
Winner Universal Order, Richard Mullen, David Simcock.
If%20you%20go
%3Cp%3EThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Kathmandu.%20Fares%20with%20Air%20Arabia%20and%20flydubai%20start%20at%20Dh1%2C265.%3Cbr%3EIn%20Kathmandu%2C%20rooms%20at%20the%20Oasis%20Kathmandu%20Hotel%20start%20at%20Dh195%20and%20Dh120%20at%20Hotel%20Ganesh%20Himal.%3Cbr%3EThird%20Rock%20Adventures%20offers%20professionally%20run%20group%20and%20individual%20treks%20and%20tours%20using%20highly%20experienced%20guides%20throughout%20Nepal%2C%20Bhutan%20and%20other%20parts%20of%20the%20Himalayas.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A