Scotland are still in with a chance of qualifying automatically for the 2026 World Cup despite losing 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 looked to have condemned Scotland to the play-offs.
Scotland, though, fought back in a remarkable second half, Ben Gannon-Doak and Ryan Christie teeing up a grandstand finish, with the tension heightened by a red card for Bakasetas and developments in Copenhagen.
With Scotland losing, a win for Denmark against Belarus would have essentially clinched their place in the finals in North America.
But Belarus came from behind to lead 2-1 and, though Denmark found an equaliser while Scotland failed to do so, the combination of results still leaves Scotland with the chance to clinch a place in the finals for the first time since 1998 on Tuesday.
Scotland will host Denmark at Hampden Park in a winner-take-all match, though they will need to drastically improve defensively if they are to pull off an historic upset.
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Greece team vs Scotland
Greece starting 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 team vs Greece
Scotland starting 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 top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the two-legged play-off ties, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign and take place on March 26 and 31 2026.
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup finals?
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place on December 5 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with the ceremony starting at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET/ 09:00 PT).
The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.
