The warning signs were there and Brian Moore seemed determined to tempt fate.

"It's been a half dominated by Scotland with nothing to show for it," he exclaimed 15 minutes before the interval, as Craig Brown's team failed to dent the defence of penny-poor Norway.

You could almost see the ghosts of Iran, Peru and Costa Rica popping up from behind the billboards to taunt the Scots with another early World Cup exit.

Sure enough, Havard Flo's goal just after the break seemed to confirm everyone's worst fears. Moore bemoaned the lack of marking: "To be fair," he added in homage to his absent friend Ron Atkinson.

Terry Venables continued the theme, and the linguistic carnage, maintaining that Christian Dailly had been "well asleep" in the six-yard box.

Craig Burley's equaliser, given Scotland's track record, was as surprising as it was deserved. Watching Norway puff and pant their way through 90 minutes of charmless endeavour, it was sometimes difficult to imagine you were watching an international football side.

There were no such problems later in Nantes where Brazil were in imperious mood. Morocco ("not at the races", according to Clive Tyldesley) failed to make the slightest impression and put Scotland's glorious failure on the opening day of the tournament into perspective.

By the final whistle, Morocco finished looking as tired and clapped out as Skinner and Baddiel's Fantasy Football programme. Just the way Scotland want them for their showdown on Tuesday; surely, this time, they won't be coming home too soon.

Somehow, I wouldn't put any money on it.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.