Billy Gilmour's FIFA World Cup 2026 dream is over before it even began. The Scotland midfielder suffered a knee injury during Saturday's 4-1 warm-up victory over Curacao at Hampden Park and will now miss the entire tournament.

The 24-year-old went down clutching his knee in the first half — with no opponent near him — and was substituted immediately. Post-match scans confirmed the damage, and Gilmour will return to Napoli for rehabilitation ahead of the club season.

Clarke devastated for his key man

Scotland manager Steve Clarke made no effort to hide his distress at the loss of one of his most important players. "I am devastated for Billy because he has been an integral part of our World Cup qualifying campaign," Clarke said. "The timing of this injury is so, so cruel and we all feel for him."

Clarke added that, while no words could ease the pain in the immediate aftermath, he believed Gilmour had many major tournaments still ahead of him.

Curtis steps up to fill the void

Findlay Curtis, brought on as Gilmour's replacement, marked the occasion by scoring his first senior international goal — pulling Scotland level after Tahith Chong had put Curacao in front. Lawrence Shankland then struck twice and Ryan Christie converted a penalty to wrap up a comfortable 4-1 win as the squad prepared to fly out to the United States.

Red card flips the tie

Scotland had struggled to break down Curacao in the opening stages, trailing 1-0 before a red card for Jurgen Locadia — shown seven minutes before half-time — fundamentally altered the contest. Clarke acknowledged that the dismissal simplified his side's task, and expressed a preference for how things might have played out under equal numbers.

"The red card obviously changes the whole dynamic of the game," Clarke said. "I think it would have been better if it stayed 11 vs 11 — then we'd have been asked more questions about finding spaces on the pitch."

Scotland's FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign opens against Haiti in Boston on June 14, and Clarke will now have to reorganise his midfield options without Gilmour, who had been one of the cornerstones of the qualifying run.