Scotland are nonetheless in with an opportunity of qualifying routinely for the 2026 World Cup regardless of shedding 3-2 to Greece in a thriller in Group C.
Anastasios Bakasetas’ seventh-minute strike gave Greece a deserved opener, and second-half strikes from Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tzolis appeared to have condemned Scotland to the play-offs.Â
Scotland, although, fought again in a exceptional second half, Ben Gannon-Doak and Ryan Christie teeing up a grandstand end, with the strain heightened by a pink card for Bakasetas and developments in Copenhagen.
With Scotland shedding, a win for Denmark towards Belarus would have basically clinched their place within the finals in North America.
However Belarus got here from behind to steer 2-1 and, although Denmark discovered an equaliser whereas Scotland failed to take action, the mixture of outcomes nonetheless leaves Scotland with the possibility to clinch a spot within the finals for the primary time since 1998 on Tuesday.
Scotland will host Denmark at Hampden Park in a winner-take-all match, although they might want to drastically enhance defensively if they’re to drag off an historic upset.
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Greece workforce vs Scotland
Greece beginning XI: Vlachodimos, Vagiannidis, Retsos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas, Kourbelis, Mouzakitis, Karetsas, Bakasetas, Tzolis, Pavlidis.
Greece substitutes: Tzolakis, Mandas, Michailidis, Masouras, Kostoulas, Rota, Triantis, Hatzidiakos, Tetteh, Mantalos, Siopis.
Scotland workforce vs Greece
Scotland beginning XI: Gordon, Hickey, Hanley, Souttar, Robertson, Ferguson, Christie, McGinn, McTominay, Gannon-Doak, Adams.
Scotland substitutes: Kelly, Bain, Tierney, Irving, Dykes, Hendry, Barron, McKenna, Hirst, Shankland, Ralston, McLean.
2026 World Cup playoffs dates
The highest workforce from every of the 12 European Qualifier teams proceeds routinely to the finals, which can be expanded to 48 groups.
The 12 runners-up in every group will be a part of 4 Nations League groups within the two-legged play-off ties, which can be drawn from pots primarily based on groups’ data through the marketing campaign and happen on March 26 and 31 2026.
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup finals?
The draw for the World Cup finals will happen on December 5 2025 on the Kennedy Heart in Washington DC, with the ceremony beginning at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET/ 09:00 PT).
The match runs from June 11 till July 19 2026.
