What Birmingham City ace Lyndon Dykes said to Tom Brady before the World Cup draw | OneFootball

Scotland are preparing for their first FIFA World Cup since 1998

Birmingham City striker Lyndon Dykes has revealed what he told the club's minority stakeholder and NFL icon, Tom Brady, ahead of last Friday's FIFA World Cup 2026 draw in Washington D.C.

After 87 minutes of waiting, the draw would eventually take place, with Blues represented somewhat on the world stage by one of their backers, who was partaking in proceedings as a result of being described as one of North America's greatest sports stars of all time.

Indeed, Brady is often referred to as the 'GOAT' by supporters of the New England Patriots, having won seven Super Bowl titles during a star-studded career in which he made millions of dollars, with some of said funds now helping bankroll Birmingham's well-documented rebuilding process under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management.

Dykes was one of many signings recruited after the West Midlands side were relegated to League One for the first time in 30 years, joining the likes of Alfie May and club-record signing, Jay Stansfield, as one of Chris Davies' experienced striking options as Blues went on to achieve a record-breaking campaign, which included winning the third-tier title at a 19-point canter.

To his credit, after enduring a mixed first season in the West Midlands following a transfer switch from Queens Park Rangers, Dykes has provided a handful of crucial moments in royal blue, which include late winners against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City at the beginning of this season, following on from his powerful header against Bradford City in last season's EFL Trophy semi-final victory at St. Andrew's.

The experienced forward has been the subject of lengthy transfer speculation after coming rather close to a summer exit, and such feats certainly haven't changed as the winter window looms large, less than five months before the Australian-born Tartan Army international hopes to lead the line for Steve Clarke's side on the World Cup stage for their first involvement in the showpiece tournament since 1998.

With each and every football player or supporter now knowing confirmed groups, dates and kick-off times for the largest World Cup in history in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the 30-year-old was amongst the millions worldwide to issue his thoughts.

Dykes will now have the opportunity to represent Scotland at a third major tournament within his senior career, having also featured at UEFA Euro 2020, which included a goalless draw against England at Wembley Stadium.

After one of the most controversial and bizzare football draws of all-time, in which Brady was joined on stage by the likes of NBA icon, Shaquille O'Neal, the NHL's all-time points' scorer, Wayne Gretzky and former England international, Rio Ferdinand, it was revealed that Scotland will face off against Haiti, Morocco and five-time winners, Brazil.

The first two of those fixtures will also take place at the Gillette Stadium, home of Brady's former side, the Patriots, before they face off against Carlo Ancelotti's superstar side in Miami on June 24th.

When asked about if his future at St. Andrew's - amid previous interest from Hibernian and Preston North End - depends on whether he will add to his 48 Scotland caps, Dykes said: “I want to be playing games consistently, as much as I can. We're doing really well here at Birmingham and it's been a tough season with the limited game time that I've got.

“We'll see what happens. There's still a few months until we can start thinking about international football or the World Cup but at the end of the day I do want to be playing, I want to be as fit as I can be going into these games.

“It's going to be an exciting few months. I'm going to be doing extras in the gym to make sure I'm at top fitness.”

He then revealed his humorous conversations with Brady prior to the draw.

“I spoke to Tom Brady and I was telling him to make sure he put us in a good group and funnily enough he put us in with Brazil, said the forward.

“It's a tough draw. We've got massive teams in there but I don't think it's something to shy away from. It's a World Cup and we've proven ourselves before, we're going in full of confidence.”

For any footballer, the pinnacle of their career is to win trophies and be involved in big games.

Dykes has certainly been involved in those with Blues during his year-long stint, but they, unsurprisingly, will pale in comparison to a potential shot at a World Cup appearance or more.

Like at St. Andrew's, the tall forward faces competition from the likes of former Birmingham striker, Che Adams and potentially Hull City ace, Oli McBurnie, for a starting berth.

However, it is clear that Davies has never utilised Dykes as his first-choice option despite continuously being full of praise towards the Scot for his mentality when called upon, as he is now behind the duo of Marvin Ducksch and Stansfield whilst gaining a comparable number of minutes to Kyogo Furuhashi, who is yet to score in the league for Blues despite an eight-figure transfer move.

As such, it is hard to rule out a January switch.