Scotland remain on the brink of making history after finishing third in Group C following a 3-0 defeat to Brazil but fate is out of their hands.
Vinicius Junior struck first after a mistake from Scott McKenna. The defender was caught in possession by Rayan who prodded the ball across to Vinicius for a simple tap-in after rounding the goalkeeper. Vini Jr then nodded in a second goal on the stroke of half-time and Matheus Cunha scored a third on the hour mark.
Steve Clarke’s side defeated Haiti in their opening match before a slim 1-0 loss to Morocco and defeat to Brazil left them with just three points and an agonising wait to determine if they’ll make it into the knockout rounds.
From 12 groups only the best eight third placed finishers will progress meaning Scotland need four teams to finish third with fewer than three points or a worse goal difference than them (-3) to qualify.
Annoyingly for them, the Scots may not know their fate until the final group stage matches have been played meaning a wait until Sunday and the conclusion of Group J’s fixtures.
How can Scotland qualify for the knockout rounds?
Following their defeat to Brazil, Scotland’s progress to the next stage of the tournament – which would put them in the knockout rounds for the very first time – is out of their hands.
Over the next few days certain results will need to fall in their favour in order for them to book a spot in the last-32 but what scenarios from each group will hand the Scots a place in the next stage of the competition?
In Group A, if Mexico beat the Czech Republic and South Korea beat South Africa, that would leave the team in third on one point but wins for South Africa and the Czech Republic would leaving the third-place finisher on four points and ahead of Scotland in the table.
In Group B, Bosnia and Herzegovina finished on four points and already sit above Scotland in the third place table.
In Group D, Australia and Paraguay are second and third but meet in their final game. The losers of that match would end the group with three points, while a draw would leave both sides on four and ahead of Scotland.
In Group E, Ecuador and Curacao have one point apiece and play Germany and Ivory Coast respectively. Failure to win would mean whoever finishes third would have a lower total than Scotland’s three points.
In Group F, the current third placed team, Sweden, have three points and face Japan who are second with four. Japan need to win that match and to such an extent that Sweden’s goal difference if worse than Scotland’s (-3).
Group G sees the crucial match played between Egypt v Iran. A win for Egypt means the team finishing third, either Iran or Belgium, will have fewer than Scotland’s three points.
Group H sees Spain needing to beat Uruguay so the third-placed team can only finish on two points.
In Group I, a draw between Senegal and Iraq would be the ideal result but a small win for either team would also be beneficial to the Scots.
In Group J, Austria and Algeria sit second and third respectively and both have three points. Algeria have the worse goal difference heading into their meeting so Scotland need an Austria win. If the game ends in a draw Algeria would have more points than Scotland and will finish third.
Group K sees DR Congo and Uzbekistan face off for third place. A draw would be ideal or a narrow win for Uzbekistan who have a goal difference of -7. If Congo win they will finish fourth with four points.
Finally, England may need to do Scotland a favour in Group L. Should Croatia earn a point or better against Ghana then the third place finisher would have more points than Scotland. A big win for Ghana, and Panama not beating England, would be Scotland’s ideal scenario.
Who will Scotland play in the knockout rounds?
There are still plenty of scenarios and results which will influence Scotland’s route through the knockout rounds should they get there. But, having finished third in Group C, they are set to face Group A winners Mexico in the last-32.
If Steve Clarke’s men win that tie they could then face England in the round of 16, providing Thomas Tuchel’s men finish top of Group L and then defeat Algeria in the last-32.
If the Scots defeat their old enemy, then a rematch against Brazil could be on the cards otherwise they could face one of Japan, Ivory Coast or Norway in the quarter-finals as things stand.
