{"id":5227,"date":"2026-06-26T12:06:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5227"},"modified":"2026-06-26T12:06:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:06:15","slug":"when-it-comes-to-soccer-there-is-no-such-thing-as-a-united-kingdom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5227","title":{"rendered":"When it comes to soccer, there is no such thing as a United Kingdom"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5220\" height=\"725\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/215cbf3653f4ce14c20826bf2e8779fa-1024x725.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/215cbf3653f4ce14c20826bf2e8779fa-1024x725.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/215cbf3653f4ce14c20826bf2e8779fa-300x212.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/215cbf3653f4ce14c20826bf2e8779fa-768x544.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/215cbf3653f4ce14c20826bf2e8779fa-1536x1088.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/215cbf3653f4ce14c20826bf2e8779fa-2048x1451.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>The World Cup is a complicated joy in the United Kingdom, especially when the country is overrepresented. (Peter Cziborra\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<p>LONDON \u2014 Connolly\u2019s, a pub in West London, is normally a favorite with Scottish football fans, but not when England is playing. Then, the Scots stay home to avoid any unpleasantries, like an England victory.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5218\">MLB\u2019s draft overhaul would limit choices for teen players \u2014 and be a boon for colleges<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou won\u2019t find any Scottish fans here tonight,\u201d owner Jason Connolly said during England\u2019s World Cup match against Croatia, which was playing on screens around a barroom jammed with fans in red and white. \u201cNot to see England. I mean, what if England won?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The horror.<\/p>\n<p>But wait. Did that one man in a neutral white shirt tucked into a corner allow himself a subtle smile when Croatian Martin Baturina tied the score with England at 36 minutes? Was that a discreet fist pump as the rest of pub emitted a collective groan?<\/p>\n<p>It was. Tom Connor, born outside of Glasgow but working in London, agreed to talk. \u201cLook, I don\u2019t mind if England wins to an extent,\u201d said Connor, an accountant. \u201cBut please God, not the whole tournament. There will be no living it down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Scots did come out two nights later when Scotland played Morocco, converting Connolly\u2019s into a sea of tartan and blue.<\/p>\n<p>The World Cup is a complicated joy in the United Kingdom, especially when the country is overrepresented.<\/p>\n<p>This year, both England and Scotland qualified, a quirk of ancient international football rules that allow Britain to send more than one team.<\/p>\n<p>That gives most Scottish fans two teams to root for, but the second one is not England. It\u2019s whomever the English are playing.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5221\" height=\"807\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a835cbae3d6dedca8fbecf04133cb535-1024x807.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a835cbae3d6dedca8fbecf04133cb535-1024x807.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a835cbae3d6dedca8fbecf04133cb535-300x236.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a835cbae3d6dedca8fbecf04133cb535-768x605.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a835cbae3d6dedca8fbecf04133cb535-1536x1210.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/a835cbae3d6dedca8fbecf04133cb535-2048x1613.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>England&#8217;s Harry Kane wins header against Ghana&#8217;s Thomas Partey and Jonas Adjetey during the World Cup Group L soccer match between England and Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts, near Boston Tuesday. (Dave Shopland\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5222\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/adf487f7168936a66bcfb81c7126eac9-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/adf487f7168936a66bcfb81c7126eac9-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/adf487f7168936a66bcfb81c7126eac9-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/adf487f7168936a66bcfb81c7126eac9-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/adf487f7168936a66bcfb81c7126eac9-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/adf487f7168936a66bcfb81c7126eac9-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>Partey, left, argues with the referee after tripping up Kane, top, during the second half of the match. (Steven Senne\/AP)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAnyone but England\u201d is a rallying cry for the Tartan Army whenever their dominant southern neighbors are on the field.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a sports rivalry that goes way back to the first international football match in 1872, which was England vs. Scotland in Glasgow (a 0-0 tie, of course).<\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s not just about sports, but politics, and history and national identity and the complex feelings many Scots have about being part of the U.K. \u2014 for now anyway \u2014 yet not being very British and absolutely not English, no matter how many Americans confuse their accents.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe talk about the auld enemy, A-U-L-D,\u201d said Connor, who has lived in London for decades and even has English friends and all that. Heck, his kids are basically English. But that doesn\u2019t mean he is.<b> <\/b>\u201cIt\u2019s us against them,\u201d he said. \u201cThe minority against the majority.\u201d<b> <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Some fans just tune it out whenever England is on the verge of winning. Others actively boo, although more lustily in Scotland\u2019s pubs than England\u2019s. Sales of England\u2019s opponent\u2019s jerseys are known to spike in Scotland in the run-up to big matches \u2014 Italy in the 2020 European Cup final, France in the 2022 World Cup quarters.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5223\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66b28ecd6052dd1f3fe7fb90883bea2e-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66b28ecd6052dd1f3fe7fb90883bea2e-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66b28ecd6052dd1f3fe7fb90883bea2e-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66b28ecd6052dd1f3fe7fb90883bea2e-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66b28ecd6052dd1f3fe7fb90883bea2e-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66b28ecd6052dd1f3fe7fb90883bea2e-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>Some Scotland fans relocated from Boston to Florida for their team\u2019s finale against Brazil Wednesday. (Michael Reaves\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Winners of the accolade include Mikel Oyarzabal, whose last-minute goal in the 2024 European final finished the off the Three Lions.<\/p>\n<p>Otherwise, Riddell pays as little attention to England as possible. He didn\u2019t actually watch that Oyarzabal match \u2014 he went out to cut his hedges for two hours. And he said he had no plans to tune into any of England\u2019s World Cup appearances this time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t watch their matches, I don\u2019t read about their matches, I really don\u2019t think about them at all,\u201d Riddell said on Tuesday, a couple of hours before England took the field against Ghana. \u201cI brought my fishing gear. That\u2019s what I\u2019ll be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He was in Fort Lauderdale. After nine days in Boston for Scotland\u2019s Group C matches \u2014 a win against Haiti and loss to Morocco, he and his mates relocated to Florida for their team\u2019s finale against Brazil Wednesday, also a defeat.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland still has a slim chance of reaching the 32-team knockout stage but that will depend on the outcomes in group stage matches to be played this weekend.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5224\" height=\"701\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66745fedfc490fd405d666af86c206e0-1024x701.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66745fedfc490fd405d666af86c206e0-1024x701.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66745fedfc490fd405d666af86c206e0-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66745fedfc490fd405d666af86c206e0-768x526.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66745fedfc490fd405d666af86c206e0-1536x1052.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/66745fedfc490fd405d666af86c206e0-2048x1403.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>Scotland&#8217;s Tartan Army played bagpipes during the march along Ocean Drive in Miami Beach, Florida. (Amanda Perobelli\/Reuters)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Like other Scotland fans, Riddell and his friends must watch and wait. They\u2019ve had a blast but if Scotland is knocked out, they\u2019ll be done no matter how that other U.K. team is doing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll fly home the next day,\u201d said Kevin Donnelly, the president of the London Scottish fan club and another never-miss supporter of Scotland matches. \u201cIt\u2019s over for us then.\u201d<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5217\">Paris police seek to halt Diamond League meet as historic heat wave strains services<\/a><\/p>\n<p>This year marks Scotland\u2019s first World Cup appearance since 1998, which was also the last time Scotland and England both made it. They are in opposite halves of the draw, meaning there is no possibility of playing each other unless both reach the later knockout rounds.<\/p>\n<p>That would be something \u2014 they\u2019ve never met in a World Cup match \u2014 but it\u2019s not likely. England has been in the World Cup 17 times and won it once. Bookies are ranking them the third or fourth favorite to win again and will give you roughly 6-1 odds on that.<\/p>\n<p>Scotland, with one-tenth the population, is making its ninth appearance and has never advanced beyond the first round. Their current odds to go all the way to this year\u2019s final: 250-1.<\/p>\n<p>If Scotland can\u2019t outplay England, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/2026\/06\/19\/with-kilts-sing-alongs-scottish-soccer-fans-bring-infectious-joy-boston\/\" rel=\"\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/style\/2026\/06\/19\/with-kilts-sing-alongs-scottish-soccer-fans-bring-infectious-joy-boston\/\">they can at least out-charm everyone else<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In Boston, the Tartan Army turned grumbling about FIFA\u2019s disorganization into bagpipes at dawn, Fenway sing-alongs, and a Red Sox \u201cScottish Celebration\u201d night \u2014 earning tearful goodbyes from bartenders.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5225\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2eefaf2dbc13a9130323cdbc08692fcd-1024x683.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2eefaf2dbc13a9130323cdbc08692fcd-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2eefaf2dbc13a9130323cdbc08692fcd-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2eefaf2dbc13a9130323cdbc08692fcd-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2eefaf2dbc13a9130323cdbc08692fcd-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2eefaf2dbc13a9130323cdbc08692fcd-2048x1366.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>A fan waves a flag showing the Royal Banner of Scotland during a Red Sox game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park on June 18. (Taylor Coester\/For The Washington Post)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<p>That\u2019s not incidental, according to Stuart Whigham, a professor of the sociology and politics of sports at Oxford Brookes University. Whigham argues that Scottish fans built their carnival identity not just from ebullient personalities, but in contrast to England\u2019s hooligan-tainted reputation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a little bit how the Scottish fans like to enjoy their football,\u201d said Whigham. \u201cBecause we don\u2019t win on the pitch, we can win friends off it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That the two teams are both there at the same time in the first place is thanks to football\u2019s infancy in the British Isles.<\/p>\n<p>The modern rules were born in England (the American-preferred \u201csoccer\u201d is actually old British slang for \u201cassociation football\u201d). And by the time FIFA was formed in 1904, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had already been playing one another for more than three decades.<\/p>\n<p>The price of admission to global football was a permanent carve-out, baked directly into FIFA\u2019s statutes: Each component nation of the U.K. keeps its own flag, its own seat, its own shot at glory.<\/p>\n<p>Some other countries within countries can qualify, such as Cura\u00e7ao, the Caribbean island, which is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (The Netherlands is also in this year\u2019s tournament.)<\/p>\n<p>But other non-sovereign territories do not get quite the same deal, although some have asked, including the Basque Country of Spain. Some territories or regions, including Sardinia, Kashmir, Tibet (and the U.K.\u2019s own Cornwall), play for their own championship in CONIFA, an alternate federation.<\/p>\n<p>Nobody in Scotland wants a merger, even though folding into the bigger, richer English program would likely produce a stronger team, Whigham said. Better to lose repeatedly as Scots than win more often as part of something called Great Britain.<\/p>\n<p>When London hosted the 2012 Olympics and Britain sought to organize a unified football squad, Wales joined but Scotland refused, not wanting to give FIFA any precedent for dissolving the separate associations.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5226\" height=\"697\" src=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c6a598c7fdad523bc516272d9f25251-1024x697.jpg\" width=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c6a598c7fdad523bc516272d9f25251-1024x697.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c6a598c7fdad523bc516272d9f25251-300x204.jpg 300w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c6a598c7fdad523bc516272d9f25251-768x523.jpg 768w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c6a598c7fdad523bc516272d9f25251-1536x1046.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/8c6a598c7fdad523bc516272d9f25251-2048x1395.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<figcaption>This year marks Scotland\u2019s first World Cup appearance since 1998. (Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAs Scots, we\u2019d rather have the talent pool diluted and have a second- or third-rate Scottish team than see a British team with maybe one or two Scottish players,\u201d Whigham said.<\/p>\n<p>The professor, who has studied the currents of nationalism, separatism and pride at play when the two teams are on the pitch, was born and raised in Scotland and once a committed member of the anyone-but-England camp.<\/p>\n<p>But his years as an objective academic in England, and his role as a husband and father to English people, have defused some of his intensity. This week, Whigham bought his son an England jersey for the first time, something he hesitated to admit for publication.<\/p>\n<p>And he planned to sit beside the boy during England\u2019s next match and be supportive. Outwardly, anyway.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m trying to mature and grow and be a better father,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if they lose, deep down in my heart, the joy of their failure will still come through.\u201d<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5214\">Ex-national security adviser expected to plead guilty in classified files case<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this year&#8217;s World Cup, Scotland\u2019s second favorite team is anyone playing England. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5219,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>When it comes to soccer, there is no such thing as a United Kingdom - 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