Ryan Christie says Scotland's World Cup exit has left him wanting more, not less. He played in all three group matches as Scotland finished with one win and two defeats, and he says the experience has sharpened his appetite for another shot at tournament football. Christie, who is at Bournemouth, was clear that qualification is not the end point.
Christie on the tournament experience
"It was an amazing experience. Seeing all the Scotland fans over there was incredible. The atmosphere was electric," Christie told bbc.co.uk. That sounds like the sort of line most players might give after a major tournament, but it is backed up by what he actually did on the pitch. Christie logged 97 minutes across the three matches and came away with a 6.43 average rating, with his best mark, 6.6, coming in the win over Haiti.
The more revealing part is what he said about the aftermath. "The first 72 hours afterwards, you feel a bit gutted because we were desperate to get out of the group and it wasn't to be," he said. He then added, "I'm desperate now to go to more tournaments, just thinking when's the next one?" That is the clearest line in the whole piece. The disappointment is real, but the bigger takeaway is that Scotland's first World Cup in 28 years has left one of their midfielders hungry for the next one.
Scotland's next step
Christie framed the goal quite plainly: "Now we really want to go to a tournament and make an impression. It's the next step for our nation." That is a fair read of where Scotland are. Reaching the World Cup after a 28-year wait was one milestone, but Christie is talking about what comes after the first appearance, not celebrating the appearance itself.
He also paid tribute to Steve Clarke after the manager's departure, saying: "He's done so much for us and obviously goes down as a Scotland legend. He'll be missed." Christie said Clarke's announcement to the players was "very emotional", which fits a squad that has been through Euro 2020, Euro 2024 and now a World Cup under him.
The message from Christie is pretty simple. Scotland have already broken the long wait to get back to the tournament, and one of their senior players now wants the next version to do more than just show up.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →