With what is tragic news for former Rangers man devastated as Billy Gilmour misses world cup through a tragic injury against Curacao at Hampden, there was an opening for a new midfielder to get an unexpected call up.
A Devastating Blow For Scotland
Steve Clarke, of course, now had to make the call to replace his stricken Gilmour, who has shone so much for every club he has played for.
He looks like a true talent who is ready to truly explode in the world of football.
It maybe has not quite happened yet for Gilmour.
Despite his time at Chelsea, Brighton, Norwich and these days, of course, with Napoli, the Scotland international is maybe yet to truly look and feel like the talent that he is.
And alas, his injury against Curacao suggests he is not going to get that platform any time soon, given he could be out for some considerable time.
Alas, it seems he has missed the World Cup, which is an absolute devastating tragedy for any Scot right now, given it has been 30 years, give or take, since Scotland were last there.
No Scottish player wants to miss out on this.
Rangers Representation Continues
The three Rangers players who got the initial call of Liam Kelly, John Souttar and, of course, on loan Finlay Curtis, were absolutely thrilled to get that shout.
Of course, now we know there will be four Rangers players with Shankland.
But there are many ex Rangers players who would love to have got that call, and Gilmour was definitely one of them.
And he did get a call, but it’s confirmed he will miss this one, which is an absolute tragedy.
No footballer should ever miss the World Cup through injury.
It is the showpiece occasion.
And no matter what we think of club football, the greatest prize in the world of the sport is the World Cup.
The Ultimate Football Dream
It is what every player dreams of.
They want to play for their country at the World Cup on a once every four year showpiece occasion.
And for Gilmour to miss out is an absolute tragedy.
We have used that word many times because it is absolutely true.
The last thing any player wants is to miss this.
It is the big one, the huge one.
It is bigger than the Champions League, whatever anybody else says.
And while the money is not quite in the World Cup what it is in the Champions League, the World Cup is all about heritage, prestige, honour and the sheer and total showpiece of winning sport’s second biggest prize.
A Grim Day For Gilmour
Indeed, we would argue that sport’s biggest prize is the World Cup.
The second biggest occasion would be the World Cup. The biggest showpiece is always the Olympics.
But Olympic gold in the 100 metres sprint, while many would argue that is the biggest prize in the world of sport, in reality, in team sport, for sure it is the World Cup.
And no player wants to miss that.
Gilmour almost certainly will, and it is a grim, grim day that he is not going to be there.