Steve Clarke quits as Scotland boss after elimination from 2026 World Cup - ESPN

Steve Clarke has stepped down as Scotland manager after their group stage elimination from the 2026 World Cup was confirmed Saturday.

Clarke signed a new contract with the Scottish Football Association right before the tournament, a deal that was set to take him through to 2030. But just 30 days after the announcement of the long-term contract, Clarke has resigned.

Scotland came into the World Cup with hopes of reaching the knockout stages for the first time. They were part of a tricky group but were aiming for history. However, after an opening-round 1-0 win over Haiti, Scotland lost 1-0 to Morocco and fell 3-0 to Brazil. Their final goal difference of minus-3 was enough to see them miss out on a spot in the final 32 as one of the best third-placed teams.

Croatia's 2-1 win over Ghana in Group L confirmed Scotland's exit on Saturday, with Opta already rating Scotland's chances at just 0.07% before that game following surprise wins for South Africa and Ecuador, among others.

Clarke took up the Scotland role in 2019 and led them to Euro 2021 and Euro 2024.

Scotland then topped their qualification group thanks to a 4-2 win over Denmark to book their spot at the World Cup, their first in 28 years. But their hopes of backing that up with a spot in the knockout stages fell apart in Group C.

Clarke was clearly emotional following Scotland's loss to Brazil on Wednesday. He walked off from a TV interview soon after the match but was quick to praise his player's commitment.

— Scotland fail to qualify for World Cup knockouts: Third-place tracker

«The most emotional part of this goodbye is for my players, without whom we wouldn't have had any of the memories that we've accumulated from 2019 until now,» Clarke said in a statement.