Scotland dig deep to beat Greece and keep World Cup dream on track
Scotland were outplayed before Kostas Tsimikas fired the visitors into a 62nd-minute lead at Hampden. But Ryan Christie levelled within two minutes following his own corner and Ferguson marked his 19th cap with a goal 10 minutes from time as Scotland capitalised on another set-piece.
Substitute Lyndon Dykes capped the comeback in stoppage-time as he pounced on a goalkeeping blunder as Scotland kept pace with Group C leaders Denmark and moved four points ahead of their opponents.
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Chris Wilson9 October 2025 22:35
World Cup 2026: Who is through and how does qualifying work?
Egypt have become the latest team to qualify for the World Cup 2026, with more are set to join them as international qualification resumes.
With the co-hosts USA, Canada and Mexico, there are now 21 countries confirmed, including two debutants with Jordan and Uzbekistan through to the 48-team finals.
This format means that more nations than ever will qualify from each of the seven main federations, but despite some spots already having been secured, teams in Europe still have a long way to go in their qualifying campaigns.
Chris Wilson10 October 2025 00:00
Scotland World Cup qualifying fixtures
Here are Scotland’s final three fixtures to decide whether they qualify for the 2026 World Cup:
Scotland vs Belarus – Sunday, 12 October
Greece vs Scotland – Saturday, 15 November
Scotland vs Denmark – Tuesday, 18 November
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 23:40
Here’s how the Group C table looks then:
1 – Denmark – 7pts, GD +9
2 – Scotland – 7pts, GD +4
4 – Belarus – 0pts, GD -12
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 23:20
Scotland’s potential opponents
With Scotland potentially guaranteeing a play-off spot on Sunday, here’s a look at the pother teams in second place – and who Scotland could potentially play as they look to qualify.
These are the teams currently in second place:
Northern Ireland (level on points with third-paced Germany, two games played) Kosovo (two games played) Iceland (two games played) Georgia (level on points with third-placed Turkey, two games played) Armenia (two games played) Poland (level with Finland, five games played) Bosnia-Herzegovina (six games played)Italy (level with Israel, four games played) Belgium (level with Wales, four games played) Albania (five games played)Czech Republic (level on points with Croatia, six games played)
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 23:00
Clarke: ‘One step closer to what we want to do’
“On the performance side of it, you have to understand how hard we worked out of possession,” says Steve Clarke.
“When they scored the goal, the shackles came off a bit and from there we finished the game strong.
“The Greeks had a lot of the ball first half but they weren’t carving us open.
“Football is a 90-minute game and you have to make sure you come out of it with a positive result. 3-1 maybe flatters us, but we did enough to win the game.
“It gives us three points and takes us one step closer to what we want to do,” he added.
On injuries and suspensions, he adds: “Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie both miss out. Aaron Hickey has picked up a small injury so I’ve got a bit of thinking to do.
“We can only concentrate on ourselves. We have to win here and see what the situation is after that.”
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 22:45
FULL-TIME! Scotland 3-1 Greece
Ryan Christie calls the result a “massive win”.
“We’re not naive enough to know we weren’t at our best tonight. The reaction to going 1-0 down was brilliant.
“It’s been a while since I scored for my country so it’s nice. Two massive games – that’s one ticked off and now onto Sunday,” he added.
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 22:25
FULL-TIME! Scotland 3-1 Greece
Goalscorer Lewis Ferguson says that the result “means everything” to Scotland.
“Playing here in front of our home crowd, it’s so important to pick up maximum points and we did that.
“This game means nothing if we don’t win on Sunday. We’ll rest, recover and go again,” he adds.
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 22:15
FULL-TIME! Scotland 3-1 Greece
A reminder that Scotland could secure a play-off place on Sunday if results go their way.
If Steve Clarke’s side win against Belarus and Greece lose away to Denmark, then Scotland would be guaranteed second spot in Group C and a play-off place at the very least!
That would mean there was a lot riding on those final two games in Greece and against Denmark at Hampden.
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 22:10
Scotland’s next match comes against Belarus on Sunday, while Greece travel to Denmark to try and keep their campaign alive.
After that, Scotland have their final two matches of the qualification campaign in November – against Greece in Piraeus and against Denmark at Hampden!
Chris Wilson9 October 2025 22:04