SCOTLAND are just 90 minutes away from ending almost three decades of World Cup misery.
Should Steve Clarke‘s men beat Denmark at Hampden tomorrow night then they will qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup in North America.
A generation of Scots have never witnessed their nation featuring in football‘s greatest tournament.
The last time Scotland faced the world’s best on the biggest stage was 1998.
But that could all change at the national stadium tomorrow.
Scotland are somehow still within a chance of qualifying automatically for the competition – despite losing to Greece on Saturday night.
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And that’s thanks to Belarus for providing a shock in Copenhagen to hold Denmark to a draw.
It’s pretty straight forward for Scotland now.
Win on Tuesday and Clarke will be the first Scotland manager to reach three major tournaments.
Anything other than three points will put the dream on hold until March – where Scotland’s fate will be decided through the play-offs.
But what is the format and who could Scotland face should everything NOT go to plan at Hampden tomorrow night.
SunSport has everything you need to know.
How do the play-offs work?
16 teams will be involved in the play-offs and they will be split into four pots.
The 12 group runners-up (will enter the top three pots in order of their Fifa ranking, with the four Nations League group winners placed into pot four.
Scotland’s pot won’t be confirmed until we know which other teams finish second in the other 11 groups.
However, it’s looking increasingly likely that Scotland will be pot two.
One team from each pot will be drawn into four separate paths: Path A, Path B, Path C and Path D.
In each of these paths, the pot one team will face the pot four team in a one-legged semi-final, with the same going for a pot two and pot three side as well.
Nations in pot one and pot two will both be at home in the semi-finals. The draw will determine who hosts the final.
Who could Scotland face?
If Scotland are pot two as expected, they will face a pot three team at HOME in the semi-final.
However, it’s still unclear at this stage which nations will be involved as most qualifying groups are still to be decided.
Teams in bold are confirmed.
- Group A: Slovakia or Germany
- Group B: Switzerland or Kosovo
- Group C: Scotland
- Group D: Ukraine
- Group E: Turkey or Spain
- Group F: Republic of Ireland
- Group G: Poland or Netherlands
- Group H: Bosnia or Romania or Austria
- Group I: Italy
- Group J: North Macedonia or Wales or Belgium
- Group K: Albania
- Group L: Czech Republic
- Nations League entrants: Northern Ireland, Sweden, Romania, Wales
Predicted pots as things stand
The four Nations League qualifiers will go into pot four.
Teams in bold already have their seeding confirmed.
Pot one: Italy, Turkey, Ukraine, Poland.
Pot two: Wales, Scotland, Slovakia, Czech Republic.
Pot three: Republic of Ireland, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo.
Pot four: Sweden, Romania, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland.
When will the play-off draw take place?
The play-off draw will be streamed live on Thursday, November 20 at 12 noon UK time.
Fans will be able to follow the draws live on FIFA.com, FIFA+ and via media partners.
Alternatively you can follow it on SunSport’s live blog
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When do the play-offs take place?
The two rounds of play-off matches will take place during March’s international break.
The semi-finals are pencilled in for March 26, with the finals scheduled for five days later.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
