Tartan Army parties with Brazil fans in Miami Beach before World Cup match

Miami Beach admin June 23, 2026 0 Comments

Tartan Army parties with Brazil fans in Miami Beach before World Cup match

Ocean Drive was a sea of blue, white and orange traffic cone hats as the Tartan Army, the beloved group of rambunctious Scotland soccer fans, brought their legendary partying to Miami Beach.

Ten-year-old Angus Slessor didn’t let his kilt stop him from climbing up a tree at Lummus Park to get a better look of the crowd.

“Keep your eyes down!” joked his father Gav Slessor as people walked underneath the tree.

Hundreds — maybe thousands — of kilt-wearing, bagpipe-playing, flag-waving, fun-loving Scotland fans descended on South Beach after a day of salsa dancing on Calle Ocho and cheering on the Marlins at loanDepot Park. Wednesday afternoon, thousands of Scots will be in Broward, partying at pubs and riding on riverboats in Fort Lauderdale. The festivities come to a head Wednesday evening when Scotland takes on Brazil at the FIFA World Cup in Miami.

Couple Gav Slessor, 49, and Mel Nardi, 44, said the city has “very welcoming” to their family as they experience the World Cup, Miami and even a baseball game for the first time. Gav said his excitement for the match is so “off the scale,” he’ll be happy if Scotland just ties.

“Tomorrow, it’ll sink in what’s happening,” he said. “It’s like my dream’s coming true tomorrow.”

From 14th to Fifth Street, the Tartan Army’s soldiers braved the high humidity. The event flyer asked parade-goers to wear sunscreen and drink water. They hydrated with beer instead.

The fans lived up to their famous “No Scotland, No Party” chant. They hollered at a firefighter waving the Scottish flag while standing on a fire truck. They took selfies with Argentina fans. They sang along to “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie.” They cheered at fellow Scots waving flags off of hotel roofs and yelled a cheeky chant at a Brazil fan watching the parade from his balcony: “You can stick your f—— Neymar up your a–!”

But don’t let the expletives fool you. Scotland fans showed plenty of love to Brazil at the parade. Some carried Scotland and Brazil hybrid flags and paired Brazil jerseys with traditional Scottish kilts. Fans even fist-bumped Brazilian tourist Valeria Lemos as she waved her Brazil flag on the sidewalk.

Lemos, 42, said she had no idea the Scotland parade was today and just so happened to be hanging out on South Beach with her friend. She felt friendly competition and good vibes — not animosity — from the Tartan Army.

“Everyone is here to have fun,” Lemos said.

But perhaps no one at the parade had more Scottish-Brazilian pride than Faroque Hussain, the Honorary Consul of Brazil in Glasgow. Hussain wore the “Spirit of Brazil” tartan, a kilt made up of the colors of the Brazilian flag that honors the connection between the two far-fledged countries. Scotsman Charles Miller, known as “the founding father of Brazilian football,” is credited with bringing the beautiful game to Brazil, he said.

Hussain also brought the oldest surviving football in the world to Miami in honor of the World Cup. The 500-year-old ball is on display at the Coral Gables Museum and will be present at the Scotland match, he said.

“The ball’s going with me to the game. The ball’s being treated as a VVIP, a very, very important person. It’s the first time ever that the ball’s going to a World Cup, so there’s a lot of firsts taking place,” Hussain said. “It’s a real, real privilege. It’s a real opportunity for us to showcase the connections between Brazil and Scotland. I don’t think there’s anyway better to showcase that than what I’m wearing just now with the ‘Spirit of Brazil’ tartan.”

Scotland fans from around the world connected at the Miami Beach parade. Eileen Ewing, a Scottish woman who lives in Australia, helped carry a giant Scotland-Mexico flag with Graeme Stevens, a Scottish man who lives in Mexico. The two met at the parade, and Ewing didn’t even know Stevens’ name until after she started holding up his flag for photos.

Traveling the U.S. with her family during the World Cup has been “the absolute experience of a lifetime,” she said.

“It’s been really welcoming. We’ve heard lots of negative things about Americans hosting and the culture, but actually everyone’s been really welcoming, really friendly. I’ve not seen any trouble,” Ewing, 51, said. “We’ve been mixing with fans from all over the world and just celebrating the football community.”

Stevens, 47, shared a similar sentiment. He has also been traveling across the U.S. for the last few weeks and has enjoyed meeting Latin American soccer fans in Miami. “It feels like half of Scotland is in the United States,” he said.

“What I’ve loved most about being in the U.S. is proving everybody on social media wrong. There’s been so many things said negative about coming here that have all been wrong,” Stevens said. “I’ve especially liked the fact it’s been so welcoming and so open. It was worth paying the money and coming to the World Cup.”

Win or lose, Scotland fans said they’re just happy to be here. The Tartan Army has gone viral on social media for their shenanigans and infectious energy. But what makes Scotland so good at partying? Ewing has a theory.

“We don’t take life that seriously. We’ve not got huge expectations. We’re just here to have a good time and to celebrate our culture and mix cultures with other countries as well,” she said. “And we do like a drink, and we do like to be funny.”