The Scottish Football Association might be the second oldest in the world, founded in 1873, however the men's national team has only competed in eight World Cups out of a possible 22. And with only four wins from 23 tournament games played -- and just one since 1982 -- it is very much a case of quality over quantity when selecting Scotland's best World Cup moments.
But hopes are high among the Tartan Army that the nation's ninth appearance at 'The Greatest Show on Earth' -- and Scotland's first for 28 years -- will result in progression from the group stage of the competition for the first time ever, allowing for more tartan moments to be considered for selection next time...
5. Murray scores the country's first World Cup goal -- Scotland 1-1 Yugoslavia. June 8, 1958
Fresh off winning the 1957-58 Scottish title with Heart of Midlothian, scoring 27 goals in 33 games, Jimmy Murray was rewarded with his first full Scotland cap in April 1958 against England at Hampden Park. Two months later he was not only starting for Scotland in their opening World Cup group game against Yugoslavia, Murray also became a go-to question for pub quiz masters up and down the land.
Aleksandar Petakovic had given Yugoslavia a sixth minute lead at the Arosvallen stadium in Västerås but, four minutes into the second half, the Hearts inside right headed in the equaliser. Eric Caldow's free kick was knocked back across the penalty area by Eddie Turnbull and Murray rose to nod the ball beyond goalkeeper Vladimir Beara -- the first of 25 goals that Scotland have scored across eight World Cup tournaments.
Incidentally, Manchester United manager Matt Busby was due to be in charge of Scotland for that World Cup in Sweden, having been appointed by the Scottish Football Association at the start of the year on a part-time basis. But after suffering serious injuries in the Munich air disaster in February 1958 he was replaced at the tournament by interim coach Dawson Walker.
4. Frustrating the holders in unbeaten campaign -- Scotland 0-0 Brazil. June 18, 1974
Very few people gave Scotland much chance of avoiding defeat in their second group game against Brazil -- World Cup winners in 1970 and the tournament's most illustrious team -- but the Scots actually came within inches of beating the defending champions.
Emerson Leao made a number of fine saves during the match in Frankfurt to keep a clean sheet, but the Seleção goalkeeper got away with one near the end when he could only parry Joe Jordan's header into the path of Billy Bremner. Unfortunately for Scotland the ball ricocheted immediately off Bremner's left boot and rolled agonisingly wide of the post.
"It wasn't like he could side-foot it in -- it bounced off him," Jordan told BBC Sport. "It wasn't the result we wanted, but we didn't feel it was an opportunity missed."
That goalless draw remains one of Scotland's best-ever results. Willie Ormond's men were the only unbeaten team at the 1974 World Cup -- eventual winners West Germany lost to East Germany in the group stage -- but the Scots exited the tournament on goal difference.
3. Strachan gives his team a leg up -- Scotland 1-2 Germany. June 8, 1986
Ask any member of the Tartan Army old enough to remember Mexico '86 to talk you through Gordon Strachan's goal against West Germany and most would give you a decent enough recollection of the shot from a tight angle that beat goalkeeper Harald Schumacher and finished in the roof of the net. But ask those same Scotland fans to talk about the celebration that followed and they'd be all over it with great detail...
The wee man's attempt to vault the high advertising boards in pure jubilation, the aborted jump, then the realisation he was too short to do so, instead casually resting his leg on the advertising hoarding.
But what was the real reason behind Strachan's bizarre celebration?
"The thing about it is, these stadiums usually had a moat behind the hoardings," Strachan told The Courier.
"So I was running and I thought: 'If I jump over here, and it goes 6ft deep, I'm gonna break my neck!' So as I was away to leap it, I thought: 'I better just check and see if there's a moat over there.' Your brain kind of goes mushy when you score a goal, and you start doing silly things."
Strachan's 18th-minute strike gave Scotland an unexpected lead over West Germany, but it didn't last long as goals from Rudi Völler five minutes later then Klaus Allofs four minutes into the second half ensured a second defeat in two group games for Alex Ferguson's men, who failed to beat Uruguay in their final match and once again failed to progress beyond the first group stage.
2. Narey's wondergoal in Seville -- Scotland 1-4 Brazil. June 18, 1982
David Narey doesn't do interviews anymore. The last one recorded in print was in 1980 when the then-23-year-old spoke to The Weekly News -- Narey will turn 70 in June. That's why you won't find a single quote from the former Dundee United defender discussing his wonder strike in 1982 that put Scotland ahead against Brazil in Spain and sent the Tartan Army into a frenzy... before the Brazilians replied with four unanswered goals.
But Narey's teammates that day remember what happened in Seville like it was yesterday.
"It's still a vivid memory," Graeme Souness told the Daily Record. "The only thing we did wrong was annoy them by scoring a goal they would have been proud to claim as one of their own. After that, they gave us a chasing and it was too hot to be running around chasing shadows."
John Wark told the BBC: "The heat didn't help. During the anthems, the sweat was lashing off us, then I looked along their line. Not a single drop on a single forehead and I just thought 'uh-oh.'
"Our goal just got them annoyed. The big man didn't have a clue what to do [after scoring] so he ended up running around like a wee boy who didn't know what day it was!"
Asa Hartford added: "Yes, they outclassed us on the day and we had a right good team at that time. But big Dave Narey gave us all a moment to remember, didn't he?"
The goal was famously described as a "toe-poke" by Jimmy Hill on BBC's coverage of the match.
Narey shrugged off the criticism upon arrival back in Dundee following yet another group stage exit for Scotland. What annoyed him far more, according to close friends, was getting home from Spain to find his wife had taped over the match with an episode of Coronation Street.
1. Gemmill's iconic goal enters World Cup folklore -- Scotland 3-2 Netherlands. June 11, 1978
Firstly, let's set the scene with this one...
Before heading to Argentina as the sole home nation to participate, Scotland manager Ally MacLeod had built extraordinary national expectation.
"I honestly think that if Scotland play with any reasonable form at all, then we will qualify and a medal of some sort will come. I pray and hope that it is the gold one."
Then came the paradox: Thumped 3-1 by Peru in their opening match in Córdoba and held to a disastrous 1-1 draw with group minnows Iran in the same stadium four days later, Scotland went into their final game against the Netherlands needing to win by three or more goals to progress to the second group stage.
Step forward Archie Gemmill with arguably the most famous Scottish goal of all time (although Scott McTominay might claim maybe not the best after his overhead kick against Denmark in November) that Mark Renton -- played by Ewan McGregor -- referenced as a high point of his life in 'Trainspotting'.
With 68 minutes on the clock, Gemmill picked the ball up on the right, slalomed his way past three defenders then clipped it beyond Dutch goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed to put Scotland 3-1 up.
Then, three minutes later, another paradox: Johnny Rep pulled a goal back for the Netherlands to make it 3-2 and the Scots ultimately missed out on qualifying for the next stage on goal difference. Homeward bound. But that iconic goal -- one of the most replayed in history -- will live on as one of the best scored in a World Cup.