Scotland still have a chance of automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup despite losing 3-2 to Greece in a Group C thriller.
Anastasios Bakasetas’ seventh-minute goal gave Greece a deserved opener, and second-half goals from Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tzolis looked to have condemned Scotland to the play-offs.
Scotland, however, hit back in a remarkable second half, Ben Gannon-Doak and Ryan Christie found themselves in the stands, the tension heightened by a red card for Bakasetas and developments in Copenhagen.
With Scotland losing, a victory for Denmark against Belarus would have essentially guaranteed them a place in the North American final.
But Belarus came back to lead 2-1 and, although Denmark managed to equalize while Scotland couldn’t, the combination of results still left Scotland with a chance of clinching a place in the final for the first time since 1998 on Tuesday.
Scotland will host Denmark at Hampden Park in a win-win match, although they will need to improve considerably defensively if they are to pull off a historic upset.
Bakasetas scored Greece’s opener after Craig Gordon made an excellent save to deny Vangelis Pavlidis.
Greece continued to spice up Scotland’s goal afterwards, with Gordon making two fine saves to deny Tzolis and also producing a brilliant low save to prevent a Panagiotis Retsos header at the near post.
Vangelis Pavlidis then strode off with the goal seemingly at his mercy, with the Benfica striker then forced off through injury.
But Scotland gathered momentum late in the first half, with Scott McTominay, predictably, to the fore.
The Napoli star slammed the crossbar with a curling effort from long range, before Che Adams and Ben Gannon-Doak each spurned McTominay’s chances.
Christie and Adams combined to squander a golden chance to equalize eight minutes into the second half, and Scotland were punished as Karetsas’ whipped finish and a long-range effort from Tzolis that Gordon should have saved appeared to have ended the game as a contest.
But Gannon-Doak scored his first Scottish goal from a low cross from John McGinn and Christie headed home an Andrew Robertson delivery to reignite the confidence which grew further as news of the developments in Denmark filtered through.
Bakasetas was sent off as he received a second soft yellow for elbowing Lewis Ferguson in the stomach, but Scotland failed to capitalize, with Odysseas Vlachodimos making a superb save with his legs to prevent a McTominay header with his leg.
Vlachodimos was not seriously tested following that occasion, but Belarus’ determination to hold on in Copenhagen means Scotland can still end qualifying with a historic feat.
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Greece team against Scotland
Greece starting lineup: Vlachodimos, Vagiannidis, Retsos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas, Kourbelis, Mouzakitis, Karetsas, Bakasetas, Tzolis, Pavlidis.
Greece replaces: Tzolakis, Mandas, Michailidis, Masouras, Kostoulas, Rota, Triantis, Hatzidiakos, Tetteh, Mantalos, Siopis.
Scotland v 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 Qualifiers Dates
The best team from each of the 12 European qualifying groups automatically advances to the final, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 finalists from each group will join four Nations League teams in the two-legged play-offs, which will be drawn into pots based on the teams’ records during the campaign and will take place on March 26 and 31, 2026.
When will the draw for the final phase of the 2026 World Cup take place?
The draw for the World Cup final will take place on December 5, 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with the ceremony starting at 5:00 p.m. GMT (12:00 p.m. ET/ 09:00 a.m. PT).
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
