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Scotland superfan flies 4,000 miles and spends £1,000 to watch his team lose 3-0 on a TV screen

Neil McKnight, 62, travelled from Hertfordshire to Miami in a 70-hour round trip after failing to secure a ticket for Scotland's 3-0 defeat to Brazil at the World Cup — and insists it was worth every penny.

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Scotland superfan flies 4,000 miles and spends £1,000 to watch his team lose 3-0 on a TV screen
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Neil McKnight spent over £1,000 and endured a 70-hour round trip to Miami after failing to get a ticket for Scotland’s 3-0 defeat to Brazil at the World Cup — and ended up watching the match on a TV screen at a fan zone. The 62-year-old from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, has no regrets.

“I’ve had a fantastic time. It’s really been worth every penny,” McKnight told the Mirror. “We may have lost 3-0 but it’s been a great experience. Both sets of fans were amazing and to be part of the Tartan Army for a World Cup was brilliant. It didn’t really matter that I didn’t get a ticket for the game.”

McKnight, originally from Ayr, watched his first Ayr United match against Morton back in 1969 and first saw Scotland play in 1982. Despite attending numerous games at Hampden Park over the decades, the trip to Miami was his first time travelling abroad to watch the national side.

He stayed in an Airbnb in Little Havana and cut costs by routing his return flight through Charlotte rather than flying direct to London. The total journey stretched across roughly 4,000 miles each way.

“I’ve had a dream of watching Scotland in the World Cup ever since the Argentina tournament back in 1978,” he said ahead of the match. “But tickets are so expensive and difficult to get so I decided to take the plunge and just head over. My wife Alison thinks it’s great I’m going.”

The atmosphere at the fan zones and bars throughout Miami left a lasting impression, even if the result did not go Scotland’s way. “The atmosphere in the Fanfest, the bars and throughout the city was something I will always remember,” McKnight added.

His close friend Andy Clayden, an England and QPR supporter, offered a more measured verdict: “It was a long way to go and a lot of money to watch Scotland lose 3-0.”

McKnight is now heading home, acknowledging that watching the remainder of the tournament from his local pub in Hertfordshire will be a somewhat different experience.

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