Excitement is building across Scotland as the FIFA World Cup 2026 prepares to kick off on Thursday, with pundits and former players reporting a surge of national confidence heading into the tournament.

Richard Gordon hosted a special edition of Sportsound, broadcasting simultaneously from New York and Glasgow, bringing together a panel of football voices to assess Scotland's prospects on the biggest stage in the game.

Callum Davidson and Tony Docherty joined from Glasgow, while Liam McLeod and James McFadden were on the ground in New York — where the tournament atmosphere is already building ahead of the opening fixtures.

McFadden, a former Scotland international, was among those expressing a mood of genuine belief that Scotland can make a mark at the FIFA World Cup 2026. The sense emerging from the discussion was that confidence within Scottish football circles has rarely felt this high ahead of a major tournament.

The panel examined what Scotland will need to do to progress, the challenges they face, and why supporters and analysts alike are daring to feel positive about a squad that has qualified for one of football's greatest occasions.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is co-hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and Thursday's opening day marks the start of a tournament that has captured the imagination of football fans across the globe — including in Scotland, where optimism appears to be at a peak.