Scotland are one game away from their first World Cup since 1998, although they fell short of a spectacular turnaround as they lost 3-2 to Greece after Belarus handed Denmark a favorable result.
Scotland, who were trailing 3-0 after 63 minutes against Greece, will play Group C leaders Denmark in a winner-take-all game at Hampden on Tuesday after drawing 2-2 with bottom-placed Belarus in Copenhagen.
Goals from Ben Gannon-Doak and Ryan Christie gave Scotland hope in the final 20 minutes, and Greek captain Tasos Bakasetas, who had opened the scoring in the final 20 minutes, was sent off for a second foul in the 84th minute and threatened to equalize several times.
Ryan Christie took Scotland to 3-2 in Greece.
Greek goalkeeper Odyseas Vrakodimos made a fine save with his feet to keep Scott McTominay at bay and deny George Hurst a tap-in from six yards short of a red card.
Denmark overturned a one-goal lead against Belarus three minutes into the second half, and after a few agonizing minutes of waiting after the final whistle in Piraeus, outside Athens, the Tartans celebrated a 2-2 draw in Copenhagen.
Scotland had ample chances to pull the game back in their favor, but Che Adams missed a great chance to equalize at 1-0 and could have equalized again at 3-2 in the second half. His debauchery was punished by Greece.
Che Adams had an unforgettable night in front of goal.
Craig Gordon, 42, made five saves in the first half in place of injured Angus Gunn.
In the end, it was Scotland’s dismal start that hurt them, and although Greece took the lead seven minutes later with a goal from Bakasetas, shots from Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tsouris in the second half put them out of contention.
Scotland’s 42-year-old stand-in goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who had not played a competitive match for six months, put in a very impressive performance in place of the injured Angus Gunn, making five first-half saves to keep his team in the game.
The dramatic finishes in Greece and Copenhagen have shifted the focus from another worrying Scottish performance, but Clarke will know they need to do more if they are to beat Denmark on Tuesday and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Clark: We were planning on going 3-0 and making the playoffs.
Steve Clarke, the Scotland national team manager, spoke about whether he was aware of the progress of the match between Denmark and Belarus:
“It was quite late in the game, when we were up 3-0, that he gave us other instructions on the pitch. I won’t say what it was, but it was with the playoffs in mind.
“Then all of a sudden it was 3-1 and I realized that’s what their game was like, so I rescinded that instruction and tried my best to get something out of this game.
“It was a crazy game, a crazy night. We conceded bad goals and scored good goals. We looked threatening every time we went forward. Greece did the same. Both goalkeepers made big saves.”
“It’s probably a great spectacle for the people watching, but it’s not a good result.
“In fact, the cause of this problem is a long ball down the pitch. This is something to keep an eye on. Usually it doesn’t cause too many problems, so I hope it’s a one-night-only thing.”
Robertson: Gunfight at Hampden – what more could you ask for?
Scotland defender Andy Robertson told the BBC:
“That’s what we wanted. It’s a very strange game today, we can’t afford to concede three goals.
“We had eight or nine really big chances. We played well offensively, but we didn’t play well defensively.
“But we fought back. Denmark got the point, but it shows how good Belarus are.
“Winner takes all on Tuesday. People were criticizing us, but now we have a shoot-off and final on Tuesday.
“I heard the fans start cheering when we lost 3-1, which was a bit strange, but I didn’t know what happened.
“We knew something had happened, but when the players come on, they’re well aware of it. We waited a long time to see if they dropped points and it was a shootout at Hampden. What more could you ask for?”
“We hope everyone will cooperate on Tuesday.”
Christie: We’ve shut down Denmark before.
Scotland midfielder Ryan Christie told the BBC:
“We’re disappointed because we wanted to come here and win or draw. On the other hand, the other results gave us the chance Tuesday night that we all wanted.”
“It was frustrating because we had been working all week, but Greece did a great job of getting out of the trap.
“They probably deserved to take the lead. We caught it late in the first half, but I think their second and third goals went against the run of play.”
“I knew the game was still on. In my head, I was thinking, let’s go get a point, let’s go get another point, so it’s a little different.
“Looking at the second half, I think offensively it was our best game in the last 18 months.
“I know we’ve shut down Denmark before, and we hope we can do it again.”
The 2026 World Cup draw will be held on December 5th in Washington.
President Trump will join FIFA President Gianni Infantino to determine group stage brackets at the John F. Kennedy Center, the performing arts venue where Trump is chairman.
When announcing the lottery venue at the White House in August, President Trump said the World Cup was “the biggest event in sports,” while Infantino declared the 104 games would be like “the 104th Super Bowl.”
The draw will take place from 12pm local time (5pm UK time).
The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
This will be the 23rd tournament.
