SCOTLAND last night clinched a World Cup play-off spot at the very least with a nervy 2-1 win over 100th ranked Belarus.
Their fate was then secured when Greece crashed to a 3-1 defeat away to Denmark, with Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel playing a vital part.
Schmeichel, 38, is expected to start between the sticks when Scotland face Denmark in what could be a straight shootout for top spot in Group C next month.
Scotland host Denmark in the final game of the campaign and Schmeichel, who has played every game for his country in the group, will pick up his 120th cap that day – should he also feature against Belarus.
The 118-cap stopper has been ever-present in the Denmark squad and is only behind Christian Eriksen on appearances for the national team, with Eriksen handed his 146th cap last night.
Schmeichel is a veteran of the game and is no stranger to using cheeky tactics he has learned over the years to noise up opposition and give his team the upper hand.
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He came under fire while playing for Celtic last season when he was spotted scuffing up the penalty spot before Ross County‘s Ronan Hale netted a spot-kick.
The 38-year-old then avoided punishment two months later when he broke a key role in the Premier Sports Cup final as he was seen encroaching in the penalty area during two of Celtic’s converted penalties in the shootout against Rangers.
And last night he caused a stir yet again – this time on duty for Denmark – but it wasn’t penalty related.
He sparked a heated moment on the pitch after Greece pulled a goal back in the 63rd minute to make it 3-1 through Christos Tzolis.
He almost sparked a huge rammy when he tried to delay the restart of the game and was given a yellow card for his antics.
As the ball hit the back of the net, Schmeichel scrambled and grabbed Sporting Lisbon forward Fotis Ioannidis after he ran to retrieve the ball in an attempt to quickly restart the game.
Ioannidis pushed the goalkeeper away, but Schmeichel continued to try and retrieve the ball from his hands right in front of the referee.
There was a lot of shoving before Anastasios Bakasetas also got involved to back his Greece team-mate up and calm the situation down.
Schmeichel looked in disbelief as both players confronted him and made their feelings clear towards the Danish stopper.
The camera panned away before returning to show Schmeichel still pleading his case to Bakasetas before he was booked by the referee.
Greece’s quick restart didn’t matter in the end, though, as they failed to score another goal in the last 30 minutes.
Greece are now OUT of contention to qualify for the World Cup as they now sit seven points behind Scotland and Denmark with two games left.
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