How Ferguson became Scotland's most influential World Cup player

Lewis Ferguson earned his 26th Scotland cap in the 1-0 defeat by Morocco

Eight 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 chance

Ferguson 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 when I was younger. The manager has found a role that suits me.

"You do a lot of the dirty work - covering the ground, protecting the lads behind you, feeding the lads in front of you. Tackles, duels - it's part of my game. It's massive within the team.

"The games have been pretty physical and I've enjoyed it.

"As long as I know I'm happy with my performance in the team and the manager is happy with my performance in the team...

"There are very few people in this world that I listen to - myself, my manager and my dad.

"I've been happy with my performance recently, but there's more to come."

Football runs deep in the Ferguson family.

Ferguson's father Derek is a former Rangers, Hearts and Sunderland midfielder with two Scotland caps to his name.

Uncle Barry was a bit of a player in his day, captaining Rangers and Scotland, and is regarded as one of the best players of the modern era not to make it as far as his nephew has to a major tournament.

"He's in Miami. I texted him to say happy Father's Day," Ferguson said of Derek.

"It makes me happy to let him see his son play in the World Cup.

"From what I know he probably wanted to achieve more than what he did. He probably lives that through me.

"It's nice to see how proud and happy he is. He's got a little more complimentary as I've got older.

"He's been the most important role model in my career. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here.

"I got released from Rangers really young. It was tough, but it was him who gave me that feeling that if I do the work I can be a pro footballer and reach a World Cup.

Will Ferguson's role change against Brazil?

Ferguson's game is built on energy and commitment, two traits he displayed immensely in Boston.

Yet filling a holding role has constrained his attacking influence somewhat, a factor which was illustrated late against Morocco as Kenny McLean's introduction offered fresh licence to roam.

McLean has also impressed during his substitute appearances, but could he be in line to start in order to allow Ferguson more freedom against Brazil?

It is difficult to say given the permutations and the opponents.

Scotland, on three points, could make it out the group on that number with a damage-limited goal difference. The kicker is they will not know until days after the game in Miami.

A point against the five-time world champions would almost certainly do the job.

"Lewis Ferguson's been a stalwart in both games," former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton told BBC Scotland.

"The bit for Lewis is we've probably taken away from some of his strengths.

"He's been identified as the kind of holding midfield player where he's not able to go and break the opposition backline as much as he probably would if he was given the freedom of being a box-to-box midfielder.

"Going into the game against Brazil, you might see that pairing of Ferguson and McLean in terms of that use of the ball to try and free Lewis Ferguson up a bit.

"He's had a really strong tournament so far and you can absolutely see his qualities."

You can watch a full-length interview with Lewis Ferguson on the BBC Scottish Football YouTube channel., external

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