Scotland – Denmark

The Scots are forced to play for victory against a stronger opponent.

In Glasgow on Tuesday, one of the few matches of the final round of the qualifying stage for the 2026 World Cup will take place, where the opponents will determine the owner of a direct ticket to North America in their personal meeting. Even considering the fact that the loser will have the right to participate in the playoffs, the stakes are extremely high. It is much easier to win one match than to fight through the playoff matches, competing against three national teams that want to go to the World Cup in 2026 just as much. Moreover, Denmark does not necessarily have to win. After the fifth round, the Scandinavian team found itself in first place in Group C with a one-point advantage over its competitor. A couple of days ago, the Danes had the chance to easily secure their participation in the World Cup with a probability close to 100%, but they could not tune in for their home match against Belarus and extract three points from their 35 shots on target against Lapoukhova. Scotland also stumbled in the last round. If the British team had beaten the Greeks, a draw would have sufficed for them on Tuesday. However, the Scots made an even more serious mistake in Piraeus than their competitor did in Copenhagen, and now they are forced to play for the win. Bookmakers have made the visitors the favorites of the upcoming match, offering odds of 2.11 on their victory. Scotland was relegated from League A of the Nations League last year in the playoffs. After finishing third in the group, the Scots lost out to Greece on goal difference for a place in the top division. With such recent experience, it is unlikely that the British team is eager to participate in the qualification playoffs, meaning they will play to win in the upcoming match. In the last round, the Scots lost their first match of the current qualifying stage, succumbing to the constantly 'interfering' Greece on its own field. The Danish team defeated Belarus in the first encounter with a score of 6:0, but in the second match clearly underestimated their opponents. Of ten shots on target, the Belarusian goalkeeper saved eight, while the visiting attackers managed to score two goals from three shots. In Glasgow, the Danes will face a stronger team, but the style of play will be more suitable for them. Scotland will not shut down defensively and will give their opponent enough space in their defense to realize their attacking potential.