Scotland is widely regarded as the strongest associate nation. But they have been unlucky at times. Remember the 2023 ODI World Cup?Scotland had defeated Ireland in the group phase and then they shocked everyone when they took down West Indies in the Super-6 phase. They also managed to defeat Zimbabwe, but that was more or less expected. But when it mattered the most, they narrowly lost to Netherlands, and it meant that Netherlands qualified for the 2023 World Cup instead of Scotland.
You really hit on what makes Scotland story in 2023 ODI World Cup Qualifiers so mixed. They are known as best associate nation meaning they are not top tier team but mostly play much better than expected. However they havr also had some really tough losses that were hard to take.
Scotland did amazing job just to reach Super Six stage.
Their win against West Indies huge shock to everyone and meant two time World Champions were out. Even though beating Zimbabwe was somewhat expected their overall play showed they are getting stronger and can truly compete with bigger cricket nations. Losing to Netherlands by small margin especially with World Cup spot on line was hard for their fans. It just shows that in international cricket even small differences can decide everything. Despite playing so well they just barely missed out on World Cup. Their journey proved how talented and determined they are but it definitely left their supporters wondering what if.