CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Scotland coach Steve Clarke is stepping down after the team was eliminated from the World Cup even though he signed a new four-year contract only a month before.
Clarke announced he was leaving in an emotional letter to Scotland's “Tartan Army” supporters shortly after Croatia's 2-1 win over Ghana on Saturday ensured Scotland could no longer qualify for the round of 32.
His seven years in charge saw Scotland reach its first World Cup since 1998 and qualify twice for the European Championship, having not done so since 1996.
Scotland's players “deserve all the praise and adulation that they receive and it was truly an honor to be called their Gaffer (boss),” Clarke wrote. “Thanks for having me and good luck to my successor.”
Scotland played its last game Thursday in a 3-0 loss to Brazil but had to wait for days to see if it would end up as one of the third-place teams with the best records, and get a spot in the knockout stage.
Its opening 1-0 win over Haiti was Scotland's first victory at any men's World Cup since 1990, but that narrow margin of victory ended up hurting Clarke's team after its subsequent losses to Morocco and Brazil.
Goal difference was the tiebreaker among the third-place teams with three points and Scotland's minus-3 goal differential left it well adrift of Senegal, whose +2 goal differential saw it clinch the final spot among the eight qualified teams.
The contract Clarke signed at the end of May had seemed set to take him through to the 2030 World Cup, and his letter didn't explain why he'd seemingly changed his mind.
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