Scotland are two games into their 2026 World Cup campaign and their talisman Scott McTominay has yet to truly stamp his authority on the tournament.
The Napoli midfielder has 15 goals and two assists across 72 caps, but his contributions in America have so far been difficult to measure by those standards alone.
McTominay came close against Haiti, striking the post in what would have been a stunning goal, yet BBC Sport viewers rated three players ahead of him that day.
Against Morocco, he received a rating of 5.09 from the public, with seven of his Scotland teammates ranked above him in the final assessment.
However, the statistics paint a more balanced picture than those ratings suggest, and it would be unfair to dismiss his contribution entirely across both matches.
Against Haiti, McTominay registered a 93% pass completion rate, the second-highest in the starting XI, and covered more than 12km, the most distance of any player on the park that day.
He managed two shots on target in both games, which is actually one more than he managed against Denmark in November, the night he became a national hero with a spectacular bicycle kick.
Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin offered a clear-eyed assessment of what McTominay is and is not capable of bringing to the team on any given night.
“Scott is not Billy Gilmour,” Nevin said. “He’s not going to go and run the game and pass. He can pass, he can do all those things. But is he going to be a technical player who runs the game? No, he’s not going to be that.”
Nevin was equally clear about where McTominay’s genuine world-class qualities lie, pointing to his movement and arrival in attacking areas as his greatest asset.
“Is he going to be world class at arriving in the box? Yeah, as a 10 or an 8,” Nevin said. “And he’s very, very good at other things and his work rate is fantastic.”
The absence of Billy Gilmour has been raised as a significant factor in McTominay’s reduced effectiveness across both opening fixtures in the tournament.
Lewis Ferguson has deputised in Gilmour’s place and has arguably been Scotland’s standout performer so far, but his positioning has limited the freedom available to those around him.
Former Scotland international Leanne Crichton suggested the team has shown quality in flashes but has not yet consistently created the conditions for McTominay to thrive at his best.
“I think we’ve played with bravery and quality and composure in flashes and, when that happens, I think that’s where Scott McTominay’s at his best,” Crichton said.
She also pointed to the possibility that opposition sides have specifically targeted McTominay by doubling up on him and tracking his runs into the box throughout both games.
“If Scott McTominay’s been picked up and he’s been marked and doubled up in certain moments, players are tracking those runs that he normally makes then it’s up to other players around that to recognise and make better decisions with the ball,” Crichton added.
The introduction of Kenny McLean on 71 minutes against Morocco gave Ferguson more licence to roam, and Scotland’s play in the final third noticeably improved as a result.
Nevin was adamant that McTominay deserves no criticism for his displays so far, insisting the midfielder cannot be expected to shine when Scotland are not getting forward with purpose.
“So when you say, ‘oh he didn’t do it to the last wee while’, well we weren’t up there at that end of the pitch,” Nevin said. “So it’s kind of hard to do it.”
With Brazil next up, Scotland will need to find a way to get McTominay into the game earlier and more frequently if they are to cause one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.
