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Scotland were beaten 1-0 by Morocco in their second Group C match at World Cup 2026 and have been left to rue two key moments at the same end of the pitch at Gillette Stadium.
Morocco took the lead with the World Cup's fastest goal after just 71 seconds and Steve Clarke's Scotland had little in the way of a meaningful response at half time.
They improved significantly after the break and carved out a couple of shooting opportunities against the current official champions of Africa, but it was an unawarded penalty kick that hit hardest.
Scotland should have had a penalty, according to ITV expert
Late in the second half, midfielder Scott McTominay carried the ball into the Morocco penalty area, where he was converged upon by three defenders and appeared to be upended from behind by Neil Al Aynaoui.
The contact was minimal but ITV's referee analyst Christina Unkel explained during the match that she expected a penalty to be given by referee Ilgiz Tantashev or on a VAR review.
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After studio panelists Duncan Ferguson and Roy Keane disagreed over the right outcome of the contentious penalty incident, anchor Mark Pougatch went back to Unkel for her post-match thoughts on the matter.
"I still think it's a penalty kick," confirmed the former official. "[Tantashev] is known for having more of a higher level of physical contact needed, but you don't need a lot for this to be a penalty.
"We're not giving a penalty because of the severity of the challenge. We're giving the penalty more from the technical element of it. It's a simple foul.
"There is a contact at the knee portion, and then one can argue that there might be another angle that shows that there's a step on that left boot.
"Once you get those two, let alone just that minimum one in there on the knee, that for me is what we've seen given many times as a penalty decision."
Keane remained unconvinced and not without justification – the challenge was not aggressive or deliberate, and didn't cause McTominay to fall – but the proper introduction of technical analysis of refereeing decisions to studio discussions is a welcome addition.
Nevertheless, the match referee and VAR Armando Villarreal were happy enough to let it go and Scotland must instead move on to their third group fixture against Brazil.
By the time that kicks off in Miami, they'll have a little more clarity on what they need from the game.
Should Scotland have been given a penalty? Let us know in the comments below...
