Scotland’s No 1 Meets Young Fan in Boston

The Scotland squad woke up in Boston this morning to the usual matchday routine: meetings, meals, a short walk, the familiar hum of a hotel on lockdown. One young fan cut straight through the bubble.

Thirteen-year-old Daniel Nevin, a Scotland supporter from Glasgow, found himself within walking distance of his national team and decided that was far too close not to try his luck. Down to the team hotel he went — and straight into a moment he will not forget.

Waiting there was Angus Gunn, Scotland’s No 1. The Norwich City goalkeeper stopped, chatted and posed for a photo with Daniel, who plays for St Cadoc’s Youth Club back home. For a boy who spends his weekends between the posts, it was like meeting the man at the very top of his position.

His father, Tommy, 55, watched it all unfold. Daniel, he said, was “delighted” — the kind of wide-eyed, speechless delight that only football can produce when the TV screen suddenly turns into real life.

Now the boy has a simple wish for tonight’s game against Morocco: a clean sheet from the man he just met. A shutout to go with the selfie.

If Gunn delivers, it will feel, at least in one Boston hotel room, as if Scotland’s World Cup journey has already paid off.