Scotland vs Greece: What do Steve Clarke's men still need to do to reach 2026 World Cup? Pathway explained
As Scotland get their third World Cup qualifying match underway against Greece, here’s how Steve Clarke’s men still have a chance to reach the tournament.
Scotland will be back at Hampden Park this evening (October 9) as they take on Greece in the latest World Cup qualifying, with Steve Clarke hoping to secure the country’s first appearance at the tournament in 27 years.
The Tartan Army will will also be out in force as Scotland face Belarus at Hampden on Sunday evening (October 12) in their fourth fixture of the World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign. It comes after Steve Clarke’s men beat the side 2-0 during last month’s match.
Here’s the pathway to qualification that faces Steve Clarke and the Scotland squad.
What do Scotland need to do to qualify for the World Cup 2026?
Scotland would need to finish top of World Cup Qualifying Group C to secure automatic qualification. Teams who place second in their qualifying group will go on to play UEFA play-offs in March 2026 to claim the remaining European spots in the competition.
The campaign so far has been mostly positive. After earning a hard-fought draw against Denmark in September, the team traveled to Hungary to secure a 2-0 win over Belarus.
Scotland currently sit second in Group C on 4 points. They trail Denmark, who are also on 4 points, by only one goal difference. However, Greece are also hot on their heels, sitting in third with 3 points.
If all things go to plan for Steve Clarke, Scotland may be able to secure a guaranteed playoff spot by the end of play on Sunday, October 12. However, a lot of scenarios will need to slot into place for this to happen.
If Steve Clarke’s men earn six points over the next two matches against Greece and Belarus, they will have earned 10 points in four out of six of the qualification matches so far. This would mean that Belarus are incapable of catching them in the table, and leave them in contention for the play-off spot.
They will avoid a battle with Greece for the play-off spot if: Scotland win both matches against Greece and Belarus & Greece lose to Denmark on Sunday evening. If this scenario happens, Greece would be unable to advance above Scotland’s hypothetical 10 point tally for the remainder of the campaign and could only end on a maximum total of nine points.
This would also leave Denmark and Scotland battling it out for the top spot. While possible, 10 points are unlikely to be enough to top the group, and Denmark face an arguably easier run towards the end of their qualifying campaign with two of these four remaining fixtures featuring match ups against bottom place Belarus. Meanwhile, Scotland face trickier opponents in the final two fixtures of the campaign against Greece and Denmark.
When is Scotland’s next match?
Scotland will face Greece at Hampden Park on Thursday, October 9 at 7.45pm. The match will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer from 7.30pm.
The Scots will return to Hampden Park on Sunday, October 12 for their match against Belarus, with kick-off set at 5pm. The match will be broadcast live on BBC Two and BBC iplayer from 4.45pm on Sunday afternoon.