How Ferguson became Scotland's most influential World Cup player

How Ferguson became Scotland's most influential World Cup playerImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Lewis Ferguson earned his 26th Scotland cap in the 1-0 defeat by MoroccoByScott MullenBBC Sport Scotland in MiamiPublished22 June 2026Eight years ago Lewis Ferguson had just departed Hamilton Academical.A much-fancied 18-year-old, he had surged to prominence for the small Lanarkshire team, marshalling a midfield with Darian MacKinnon and Ross Jenkins.On Wednesday he could be his country's key man in stopping Matheus Cunha, Vinicius Jr and Casemiro to make history for Scotland by making it out of their group for the first time at a major tournament.Two games into their World Cup campaign, Ferguson has probably been manager Steve Clarke's most influential player.But how has Ferguson emerged from the shadow of Tartan Army heroes Scott McTominay and John McGinn to become such an important cog in the machine?Gilmour misfortune and taking his chanceFerguson has come a long way since those days at Accies.A successful spell at Aberdeen helped propel him to Serie A, where he became Bologna captain.He now has four seasons in Italy and a Coppa Italia under his belt, so by no means is he a left-field pick. Having said that, he has found international appearances hard to come by given the plethora of talent in the squad.However, misfortune can lead to opportunity. Billy Gilmour's knee injury in Scotland's friendly against Curacao last month left a gaping hole in Clarke's line-up as a holding player behind McTominay.Ferguson has performed the role superbly.Against Morocco he managed to break through the line 15 times, the most of any Scotland player going forward.Astonishingly, he offered himself to receive a pass 76 times during the game. The second-highest figure was 35 from Che Adams."The unselfish bit, I enjoy it," Ferguson told BBC Scotland. "I'm representing my country - I'll play any role."I played it a lot whe...