Scotland: What Thursday’s results mean for their qualification
After Scotland’s 3-0 loss to Brazil on Wednesday, their hopes of progressing to the knockout rounds at the World Cup are out of their hands.
With eight of the 12 third-placed teams progressing, Scotland are now 8th in the third-placed table, and, after a series of results went against them on Thursday, their chances of progressing are becoming ever slimmer.
Stats company Opta has cut Scotland’s chances dramatically to just 5.36% after Thursday’s results. After their final group game, they had a 42% chance of qualification.
Group E looked like the most likely pair of fixtures to help Scotland, but Gonzalo Plata’s 77th-minute gave Ecuador a sensational win over group winners Germany.
In Group F, Scotland needed an unlikely four-goal win for Japan, but they played out a 1-1 draw against Sweden. And in Group E, with both teams needing a draw, Paraguay and Australia ended goalless in an uneventful game that could well cast doubt on the integrity of the new World Cup format.
How Scotland can qualify
With just six groups remaining, Scotland still need a minimum of four of the following scenarios to unfold:
Friday
Group I
Senegal to draw with Iraq OR Iraq beat Senegal by two goals or less.
Group H
Uruguay to lose to Spain.
Group G
Iran to lose to Egypt
Saturday
Group L
Croatia to lose to Ghana by three goals or more.
Group K
DR Congo to draw with Uzbekistan OR Uzbekistan to win by three goals or less.
Group J
Austria to beat Algeria by two goals or more OR Algeria to beat Austria by four goals or more.
Wednesday
Group A
Czechia fail to beat Mexico and South Africa fail to beat South Korea OR Czechia fail to beat Mexico and South Africa beat South Korea by four goals or more. – South Africa’s 1-0 win saw South Korea finish third with -1 goal difference.
Thursday
Group E
Ecuador to fail to beat Germany and Curacao to fail to beat Ivory Coast OR Curacao to win by four goals or more and Ecuador fail to win. – Ecuador’s 2-1 win over Germany saw them reach the knockout stages by finishing third with four points.
Group F
Sweden to lose to Japan by four or more goals. – A 1-1 draw for Sweden guarantees them a spot in the next round with four points.
Group D
Paraguay to lose to Australia by two or more goals OR Australia to lose to Paraguay by four or more goals. – Both teams knew a draw would see them through to the knockout rounds, and they were happy enough with a 0-0 draw.
Third-placed Teams - top eight go through
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sweden | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| 2 |  Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 3 |  Bosnia & Herz. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 |  Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| 5 |  Croatia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| 6 |  South Korea | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| 7 |  Algeria | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| 8 |  Scotland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| 9 |  Cape Verde | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 10 |  Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 |  DR Congo | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 12 |  Senegal | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 0 |
Cover Photo: Flag of Scotland by Christoph Strassler used under license by CC BY-SA 2.0.
