Tartan Army covering themselves in glory - Souness
Article excerpt
Scotland's fans, known as the Tartan Army, are drawing acclaim for their enthusiastic support at the World Cup in the United States. Former midfielder Graeme Souness praised their energy both at Saturday's match against Haiti and at a Boston Red Sox game at Fenway Park, saying their celebrations amount to free advertising for Scotland's tourism industry. "What an advert for Scotland - and for the Scottish Tourist Board," Souness told BBC One's Breakfast. The fans have generated notable noise around the host city, earning recognition beyond typical sports coverage.
[PA Media]
Former Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness reckons the Tartan Army's celebrations at the World Cup will do wonders for the tourism industry.
Scotland fans have earned praise for the noise they generated both at Saturday's Group C opener against Haiti and at a Boston Red Sox baseball game at Fenway Park the following day, as well as around the host city.
"What an advert for Scotland - and for the Scottish Tourist Board," Souness said on BBC One's Breakfast.
"How many people will want to visit after seeing how they celebrate and being in their company. They are doing the country proud.
"They are there to celebrate and right now the team are giving them something to shout about."
Souness, who played at three World Cup tournaments, admitted "we weren't fabulous" in the 1-0 win over Haiti.
"But we got the job done and that means, unless it is an absolute disaster from hereon in, they will qualify for the next stages as one of the best third places," he said.
"It is a scruffy old goal, but at the end of the day, every goal counts and the supporters won't care about that - and they are covering themselves in glory."
Souness remembers the difficulty of playing Brazil in the heat of Seville in 1992.
"The problem when you play in heat is, if you keep giving the ball away, sooner or later someone's going to punish you," he added.
"And I just felt, in the second half, when we were holding on to that lead, we should have been better at that. Don't give the ball away. Good players don't.
"They have another game [against Morocco] in Boston, so it's still going to be sticky and humid and then they've got Brazil down in Miami on the 24th.
"We are a small nation, but the new format means you have a better chance to qualify and we've taken that chance.
"In that play off against Denmark, they were fantastic, so they deserve to be there."