Lawrence Shankland: Scottish media react as Rangers striker 'starved' vs Brazil

Lawrence Shankland was on the losing end as the Rangers striker started for Scotland against Brazil in the World Cup on Wednesday.

The former Hearts star didn't have much to do in the game at Miami Stadium on 24 June as Carlo Ancelotti got the better of Steve Clarke.

Vinicius Junior's first-half brace was followed up by Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha scoring at the hour mark to seal a 3-0 victory for the South American nation.

Shankland cut a lonesome figure up top as he was picked over and the striker, who recently moved to Ibrox, lacked support from his teammates.

The 30-year-old scored 16 goals in the William Hill Premiership for the Jam Tarts in the 2025-26 campaign, but is yet to open his account at the World Cup after starting against Haiti and Brazil in the group stage.

Scotland fans will now hope they are among the eight best third-place teams to qualify for the last 32 with three points and a goal difference of minus three.

Shankland was one of the few players who put in a decent shift for Scotland in their damaging defeat against Brazil.

The striker had two shots in the game before eventually being replaced by Che Adams in the 89th minute.

While The Scotsman gave Shankland a rating of 4 out of 10, they acknowledged that he was "starved of service" in his thankless task of leading the line as the lone number nine.

BBC Sport Scotland reporter Andy Burke was more forgiving of the centre-forward, giving him a rating of 6 out of 10 for some neat link-up play, but once again, it was a lack of service that let him down.

Sources told Football Insider on 24 June that Rangers wanted to sign Lewis Ferguson this summer, but Domenico Tedesco's appointment at Bologna would have a big impact on his future.

Derek McInnes could reunite with Ross McCrorie soon, with the Bristol City right-back being heavily linked with a return to Ibrox.

Andrew Cavenagh is following up on his promise to sign Scottish players at the Glaswegian outfit, but it remains to be seen whether they can get a deal over the line for a player like Ferguson.