Scott McTominay scored the dramatic — and ultimately decisive — goal on a bicycle kick on Tuesday to secure Scotland’s spot in the 2026 World Cup.
Less than three minutes into his team’s final qualifying match in Group C, the Napoli midfielder took a cross from Ben Gannon-Doak in the middle of three defenders and drilled a right-footed overhead kick past Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. It proved to be the decisive goal in a 4-2 win that secured the Scots’ first World Cup appearance since 1998.
Scotland scored a pair of goals in second-half stoppage time while a man up after Denmark had a player sent off.
“We’ve been on a journey. I spoke to them about it pre-match, about how this is the opportunity we’ve waited for. What a night, eh?” Scotland coach Steve Clarke told reporters in Glasgow. “This was the chance, one game. This was like a playoff final. We put everything on the line. There’s always one last step and it’s always the hardest.”
Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria also clinched spots on the final day of European qualifying.
Spain won Group E despite a 2-2 draw at home against Turkey, equaling Italy’s 31-match unbeaten streak in competitive matches from 2018-21 in the process.
Belgium will play in a fourth consecutive World Cup after breezing past Liechtenstein with a 7-0 win minus star Kevin De Bruyne. Belgium finished ahead of Wales, which had no trouble in a 7-1 home win against Macedonia.
Austria advanced from Group H with a 1-1 draw at home against Bosnia and Herzegovina, while Switzerland secured its spot with a 1-1 draw at Kosovo.
The 12 group winners each advanced to the World Cup, with the runner-ups heading to the playoffs to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 through July 19. They will vie for spots against the four best-ranked group winners from the 2024-25 Nations League who did not finish first or second in their qualifying group play.
Elsewhere, Curacao became the smallest country to ever qualify for a World Cup finals. The Caribbean island nation of 156,115 people that covers 171 square miles held on for a 0-0 draw against Jamaica to finish an unbeaten run (3-0-3) through qualifying.
–Field Level Media
