Craig Gordon is at Scotland's World Cup base in Charlotte at 43, the oldest player at the tournament, and he says the chance he had been chasing for years now feels real. Scotland are back at a World Cup for the first time since 1998, and Gordon qualified after the 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden last November. His own words make the point plainly: "Without doubt, I thought this opportunity had passed me by on more than one occasion."

Why this World Cup means so much to Gordon

He has not dressed it up. "And especially for me, for the many years I've been trying to get here, to finally be here on the edge of the tournament starting properly, it's a fantastic feeling," Gordon told skysports.com. That matters because this is not just a late-career reward, it is one he had started to fear would never arrive.

The age is what makes it stand out. Gordon is 43, and the tournament is finally giving him a first World Cup after years of injury setbacks. Scotland's return also ends a long absence from the competition, with their previous appearance coming in 1998.

What happens next for Hearts and the gloves

Gordon is leaving two big questions open until after the tournament. He is out of contract with Hearts after signing a one-year deal at Tynecastle last summer, and he has not committed himself to another season. "There will come that moment, whether that's now or whether that's next year. We will cross that bridge when we come to it," he told BBC.

The Scotland goalkeeper picture is still live as well. Angus Gunn was given the number one jersey and played the full 90 minutes in Scotland's opening win against Bolivia, but Gordon says the Haiti starting spot is still up for grabs. "There's no indications whatsoever, that's nothing new. We've got a few days left of training to try and impress and show that we're the one to take that position, that goes for all of us and I'm no different."

That keeps the focus on Haiti vs Scotland on 14 June, with Morocco and Brazil still to come in the group. For now, Gordon has the World Cup he feared had slipped away, and the decision on his future waits until after Scotland's campaign.

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