When the draw was made for these World Cup qualifiers, there was a feeling that the best Scotland could hope for would be a play-off spot.
With Denmark coming in as top seeds, and Greece running riot in a 3-0 win at Hampden only a few months ago, Steve Clarke’s side would be doing well to split those two teams and finish second.
That was the theory, at least. But the picture already looks very different after the opening rounds of fixtures over the past few days.
By taking four points from their opening two games, both of which have been away from home against Denmark and Belarus, it has been the perfect start for Scotland.
The Tartan Army are already recalibrating their ambitions. Never mind a play-off spot, Scotland are now in pole position to actually go on and win the group.
Che Adams opens the scoring for Scotland just before half-time against Belarus
Steve Clarke’s side have taken four points from their opening two matches in the group
A Belarus OG made sure of the three points for Scotland on Monday night in Hungary
The fact Denmark went away to Greece and won so handsomely on Monday night was a very welcome surprise from a Scotland point of view.
It leaves Scotland with a very simple equation now. If they win all three of their home matches at Hampden, they will give themselves an outstanding chance of finishing top of the section.
They would be guaranteed to finish on at least 13 points. If Denmark lose at Hampden but win their other three games, they would also be on 13 points. It would then come down to goal difference.
We’re not quite at the stage of having to crunch the numbers just yet, but the fact Scotland know that three wins from their three home games would potentially see them qualify outright is a huge incentive.
Whilst the match against Belarus was far from a classic, Scotland got the job done in awkward circumstances given the weird atmosphere of being behind closed doors.
They have kept two clean sheets at the start of the campaign and have plenty to build on moving forward into next month’s home double header against Greece and Belarus.
In Ben Gannon Doak, Scotland had the best player on the pitch. The only slight regret from these two games is that Clarke never brought him on sooner in Copenhagen.
Che Adams was also back among the goals and this was the first time a Scotland striker had scored in a competitive match in nearly two years.
If Clarke’s side can win both of those matches at Hampden next month, you can guarantee supporters would be eyeing up flights to America next summer.
