Rick Edwards

I'm Rick Edwards and today we're going back to the last time Scotland went to the World Cup, the summer of 1998.

After failing to reach the World Cup for the first time in 24 years in 1994, Scotland were back on the world stage.

Qualifying hadn't been easy, they'd finished behind Austria, but went through as the best runners-up in Europe, and under the guidance of Craig Brown, there was real excitement that this Scotland team could be the first to reach the knockouts.

They were drawn against defending champions Brazil for a fourth time, who they'd face in the opening game of the tournament at the Stade de France in Paris.

For better and worse, it'll be an unforgettable day.

So today we're jumping on the Eurostar and heading to Paris in the company of three Scots who were there because this is Remember When We Went to France 98.

OK, let's introduce the three die-hard Scotland fans that are with me today.

I've got Paul.

Hello there.

I've got Gordon.

Hello there.

And I've got Ian.

How you doing?

So, going back to 1998...

At that point, getting to the World Cup was pretty routine for Scotland.

I know you missed out in 1994, but before that, five World Cups on the bounce.

What did you make of the Scotland squad that went out there?

Yeah, is that fair, Gordon?

Yeah, hard-working, 100% guys like Colin Henry, Calderwood, Craig Burley, but John Collins is probably the classic and a player we had.

What was the feeling about Ali McCoy's not going here?