St Johnstone legend David Wotherspoon flew out to Toronto to be a part of Canada’s World Cup party.
The three-time Saints cup winner is recovering from ACL surgery, after injuring his knee in the League Cup semi-final against Celtic in November.
Wotherspoon isn’t expected back until the start of next season, or more likely a number of weeks into it.
And he now has the added incentive of forcing his way into John Herdman’s World Cup squad after the men’s national team secured qualification for the first time in 36 years.
We have qualified today. But it’s time to believe in tomorrow. 🇨🇦#CANMNT #WCQ #WeCan pic.twitter.com/zOoT29TOO4
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) March 27, 2022
Their last World Cup appearance came at Mexico 1986, where they finished bottom of their group without scoring.
Wotherspoon, who was a Scotland under-21 international but was eligible to play for Canada because of his mother, was part of the sell-out crowd at BMO Field.
Before the match, the official Canadian Soccer Twitter account posted a picture of Wotherspoon and Samuel Piette, another player who missed out on Sunday’s match through injury, with the words: “Some friendly faces pitch side”.
Some friendly faces pitch side 🍁❤️#CANMNT #ForCanada #WCQ pic.twitter.com/0ZSS5p5XPi
— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) March 27, 2022
And fans of Les Rouges were delighted to see the duo sharing the glory.
“Nice to see Spoony and Piette, two injured warriors who helped get here in site to celebrate a potential qualification,” wrote one.
Meanwhile, former Dundee United star Ryan Gauld, who plays for Vancouver Whitecaps, offered his congratulations to Canada.
“Brilliant,” he said on Twitter. “Hopefully Scotland will see you there.”
Brilliant, @CanadaSoccerEN! 🙌
Hopefully Scotland will see you there. 🤞🏻 https://t.co/6jQK3Kk6va
— Ryan Gauld (@RyanGauld) March 27, 2022
