Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterThis summers World Cup will be the biggest and most commercial ever seen.Not only has the competition been expanded to 48 teams, but the size and scope of the tournament, which is being played across three countries, will reach new levels in the coming weeks.It will be a far cry from the tournaments of old, when the experience was less slick and polished and the capacity to involve more than a sprinkling of chaos. You may like 'I was there in 1982 against that unbelievable Brazil side. I was on the pitch and saw them up close - but I dont think I played!' Gordon Strachan recalls Scotland World Cup memories and reveals his striker solution Gordon Strachan interview with Henry Winter: 'I never really enjoyed the World Cups' The Scotland World Cup 2026 away kit is out - and it's a real conversation starter Gordon Strachan on his World Cup adventuresScotland have missed out on the last six World Cups, with their qualification that they won so dramatically against Denmark last year marking their first appearance since France 98.Before then, the Tartan Army were regulars on the world stage, with their squads during the 1970s and 80s packed with players who were big on talent and big on personality.Gordon Strachan was one such player, with the former Leeds United and Aberdeen midfielder a part of his countrys 1982 and 1986 tilts in Spain and Mexico, respectively.It was a different world, he smiles as he looks back at his World Cup experiences with FourFourTwo.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.When you were at the World Cup, there were no phones, there was no telly you were sharing a horrendous room with somebody who was the exact opposite of your wife!You would get one three-minute phone call a week, with someone queuing up behind you.These days, players are told how they must eat, sleep, train and even relax, but the ramshackle nature of the tournament in the 1980s - even when it came to matters as serious as drug testing - was a world away from what footballers experience today.You made your own fun everybody wanted to be in the post-match drug test, because you could drink as much alcohol as you wanted until you needed a wee, Strachan, who turned out 50 times for Scotland, adds.Youd think, You beauty, Im in the drug test!Thered be you, a player from your side, and two from the other side drinking with Scotsmen, many of them ended up drunkTOPICSScotlandWorld CupJoe MewisSocial Links NavigationFor more than a decade, Joe Mewis has worked in football journalism as a reporter and editor. Mewis has had stints at Mirror Football and LeedsLive among others and worked at FourFourTwo throughout Euro 2024, reporting on the tournament. In addition to his journalist work, Mewis is also the author of four football history books that include times on Leeds United and the England national team. Now working as a digital marketing coordinator at Harrogate Town, too, Mewis counts some of his best career moments as being in the iconic Spygate press conference under Marcelo Bielsa and seeing his beloved Leeds lift the Championship trophy during lockdown.With contributions fromAlasdair Mackenzie
