Can Scotland still qualify for World Cup last 32?
Steve Clarke said “I think we’re going home," after Scotland's loss to Brazil, but team could still qualify if results go in their favour
Scotland's World Cup chances have survived another day, with results on Thursday night have meant they are eliminated from the 2026 tournament... yet!
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On Thursday, Japan drew with Sweden, which put Graham Potter's side through as one of the guaranteed top eight teams to have finished in third place in a group.
With eight of the 12 third-placed sides advancing, Scotland were shunted down from seventh to eighth in the table after Ecuador beat Germany 2-1.
And every side below the Scots still has a game in hand.
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Manager Steve Clarke admitted, "I think we are going home," after a 0-3 defeat to Brazil left their World Cup qualification hopes out of their hands.
Vinicius Junior led the rout in Miami, which put Brazil top of Group C, with Morocco finishing second - also on seven points - after both teams beat both Scotland and Haiti, and drew with each other.
Scotland finished on three points, which were collected in their 1-0 win over Haiti, and this still gives them a shot of advancing to the last 32, but Clarke is pessimistic about their chances.
“I think we’re going home,” the manager told the media afterwards.
“You see their quality in the final third of the pitch, we didn’t have that. We created chances but it wasn’t enough. Let’s be honest, the best team won."
Eight of the highest-scoring third-place teams across the 12 World Cup groups will advance to the last 32 and Scotland are one of these at present.
However, if results do not go their way, they will go out.
Clarke would not be drawn on whether he thought Scottish fans should stay in North America to find out.
He added: “The fans have been absolutely brilliant. But don’t forget this group of players brought them to America. The fans appreciate what this group has done for them.”
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Have Scotland qualified for the World Cup last 32?
No, Scotland have finished third in Group C, which means that they have missed out on the automatic qualification awarded to the top two sides - Brazil and Morocco.
But there is still a chance they can make it through as one of the eight best-placed third-ranked teams from across all 12 groups.
Group C table
Can Scotland still qualify?
Yes, Scotland can make it through and the squad have flown to their base in Charlotte where they face a nervous wait to see if they can be one of the best-placed teams.
Captain Andy Robertson said: “Time will tell, maybe I’ll be proved wrong and we’ll get another shot, I hope that’s the case. The next couple of days will be horrible and long but we have to deal with it.”
His teammate John McGinn said it was “unlikely” that Scotland will advance, while manager Steve Clarke said "I think we are going home."
The ranking of the third-placed teams
Scotland now need an incredible turn of events to still make it through.
Essentially, they require:
- Cape Verde,
- Belgium,
- DR Congo,
- and Senegal, to all not win or draw games in hand for Scotland to scrape through.
One other permutation is Algeria, who are one place above Scotland and have a game in hand, and could fall behind if they lose their final match heavily.