Scotland are out of the World Cup (Image: MB Media, Getty Images)
Scotland have been knocked out of the World Cup after Ghana’s failure to beat Croatia by three goals. The Tartan Army’s fate was finally confirmed three days after their 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Brazil, as results elsewhere made clear they had fallen short of qualifying as one of the third-placed teams for the round of 32 knockout stage.
Only the top eight of the 12 third-placed sides would advance, and Scotland have paid the ultimate price. They were already sitting below the qualification threshold heading into the final three groups in 10th place, and Croatia’s avoidance of defeat made the gap impossible to bridge.
Petar Sucic drew first blood for Croatia with a thunderous long-range effort, leaving Scottish hopes in tatters after just 30 minutes. Derrick Luckassen pulled one back for the African side, but Ghana could not muster enough to keep Scotland’s dreams alive, with Nikola Vlasic wrapping up the scoring for Croatia in a 2-1 win.
As a result, Scotland’s wait for a first-ever appearance in a World Cup knockout round continues, after finishing third with three points in Group C. That standing had already been secured ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Brazil, with the 1-0 opening victory enough to eliminate Haiti on head-to-head record.
However, Steve Clarke’s side suffered a devastating blow to their goal difference against Brazil. Vinicius Junior struck twice before the break, before Matheus Cunha added a third after the interval to complete a commanding win for the Selecao.
Scotland boss Clarke conceded that their chances of advancing to the next stage were virtually finished at the time, despite Opta’s prediction model placing their odds of progression at 24.9 per cent. “Yeah for me, I think for sure we’re going home,” Clarke told reporters.
Much of their fate hinged on the results between Czechia and Mexico, as well as South Africa’s clash against South Korea. While Mexico delivered exactly what was needed with a commanding 3-0 victory, South Africa caused a shock by defeating their Asian rivals 1-0.
That result dealt a devastating blow to Scotland’s qualification prospects, as Bafana Bafana secured second place in their group. South Korea slipped to third, and their superior goal difference pushed Scotland even further down the rankings.
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Croatia beat Ghana (Image: Getty)
Scotland tumbled to seventh in the third-place standings ahead of the matches on June 25, perilously close to the cut-off, with only the top eight third-placed sides earning a place in the knockout rounds. Their destiny hinged on the outcome of Group E fixtures as they approached simultaneous 9pm (BST) kick-offs on Thursday.
Ecuador sat third on one point ahead of their final encounter with Germany, while Curacao occupied fourth place before meeting the Ivory Coast.
Scotland were aware that should Ecuador fail to overcome Germany and Curacao be unable to defeat the Ivory Coast, the Tartan Army would leapfrog both nations in the standings. Yet a surprise Ecuador triumph compounded their misery.
Entering the concluding day of the group phase, Scotland possessed less than a 0.1 per cent likelihood, according to Opta, of advancing. They required all of the following to occur:
Ghana to beat Croatia by 3+ goals.
Uzbekistan to beat or draw with DR Congo.
Austria to beat Algeria by 2+ goals.
Scotland needed a miracle to salvage qualification (Image: Getty)
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Even had Scotland managed to engineer a miraculous qualification, they would have encountered a challenging route through the tournament’s later rounds. From Group C, they could have met the victor from Groups A, E or I, potentially pitting them against hosts Mexico, Germany or France.
A clash with Mexico might have set up an England encounter in the round of 16, but such scenarios proved academic.
Given their underwhelming displays in North America – their solitary goal arriving against Haiti – their devoted supporters may well have been saved further anguish. Ultimately, as Clarke rightly forecast, the tournament’s most vocal fans are now bound for home.