Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston heads into Scotland’s World Cup squad carrying a strange little piece of football history with him.
The Celtic defender is the only player in Steve Clarke’s current group who has actually been part of a Scotland side that beat Brazil. For a country that has faced Brazil ten times without a senior victory, that is not a bad story to bring into a World Cup summer.
Scotland will meet Brazil again during the group stage in America.
Ralston is already preparing for one huge match before then though, with Celtic facing Dunfermline at Hampden this weekend as Martin O’Neill’s side chase a domestic double after the dramatic title win over Hearts.
His Scotland place feels fully deserved now.
There was a time when Ralston looked like he might spend most of his career as squad depth at Celtic. Instead, he has turned himself into a reliable international player through consistency and mentality more than hype. Managers trust him because he understands shape, defends his area properly and rarely hides in difficult matches.
That old result against Brazil came back in 2017 at the Toulon Tournament in France.
Scotland’s Under-20 side shocked Brazil 1-0 thanks to a goal from Greg Taylor. Scot Gemmill’s side reached the semi-finals and several players from that squad looked destined for long Scotland careers at the time.
But nine years later, Ralston is the only player from that group selected for this summer’s World Cup squad.
Ralston spoke about that famous result shortly after the match.
He said: (The Herald), “It’s been the stuff of dreams for me after my first Celtic start and then beating Brazil.
“We were buzzing after the Brazil game. We’re the first Scottish team to achieve that.
“Brazil are used to keeping the ball and passing it, but we went out to unsettle them and we got the result.
“We all went out with the attitude that it was 11 v 11 and not think of them as Brazil and we went out and had a go.”
That mentality still suits this Scotland side now.
Clarke’s teams are not built around fear. They defend aggressively, stay compact and try to make games uncomfortable for bigger opponents. Ralston fits that approach naturally because his game has always been based on discipline rather than flair.
He may not be one of the first names supporters mention when discussing Scotland’s squad.
But he has already done something against Brazil none of his teammates can say they have managed.
