With Europe’s primary round of World Cup qualifying drawing to a close Tuesday, there was plenty of drama across the continent. But arguably none matched what unfolded in Scotland.
In front of thousands of delirious fans at Glasgow’s Hampden Park, the host nation scored early on a bicycle kick and then notched two goals in extra time — one from midfield — to defeat Denmark and win its qualifying group. The 4-2 triumph sends Scotland to its first World Cup since 1998.
“What a crazy night. The quality of some of those goals, I don’t think we’ll see in another 20 years,” Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon said (via the BBC). “I’ve been playing for 21 years with the national team. To go through all that and end with a night like that — incredible.”
Scotland needed a win to lock up a trip to the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. To emerge atop UEFA’s Group C, Denmark needed just a draw, and it nearly achieved that result despite going down to 10 men in the second half. The Danes also had to overcome a highlight-reel goal in the match’s third minute, when Scotland’s Scott McTominay leaped in the penalty area and swept his right leg overhead to score on a bicycle kick.
¡BRUTAL GOLAZO! Scott McTominay anota de chilena a favor de Escocia #EliminatoriasEnViX pic.twitter.com/o8mGpo0Oh7
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) November 18, 2025
Denmark somehow steadied itself after that and leveled the contest with a 57th-minute penalty kick by Rasmus Hojlund, who missed his country’s previous qualifying match because of illness. Before the first half came to a close, teammate Rasmus Kristensen was given a yellow card, and he was sent off after picking up another in the 62nd minute.
Denmark then fell behind again, 2-1, on Lawrence Shankland’s 78th-minute tap-in tally off an expertly curled corner kick. The Danes, however, drew even once more when Patrick Dorgu scored just four minutes later. The 2-2 score, which would have won Denmark the group, held up until the third minute of stoppage time, when Scotland’s Kieran Tierney found the mark on a bending rocket shot from well outside the box.
¡Golazo para el Mundial! Kieran Tierney mete a Escocia a la Copa del Mundo #EliminatoriasEnViX pic.twitter.com/vOxe4FuQvg
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) November 18, 2025
“I thought that was it, glorious failure, us again,” Scotland midfielder John McGinn said (via UEFA) of giving up the lead late in regulation. “I was thinking about the playoffs in the 91st minute. I was thinking, ‘Not again.’ But what a strike from KT — I will never feel like that on a football park again.”
Denmark was still one goal away from stealing the result, so Scotland wasn’t entirely out of the woods, at least until Kenny McLean pulled a rabbit out of his hat. With the Danes pressing forward as stoppage time neared expiration, he intercepted an errant pass, got around a defender and launched a shot from the midfield stripe that caught Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel — a club teammate of Tierney’s at Glasgow’s Celtic F.C. — far off his line.
“I thought about it twice. The keeper didn’t drop too quickly, so I took a pop,” McLean, who at age 33 is one of the few Scottish players with any recollection of the previous time their nation competed at a World Cup, said after the match. “To see it go in that inside post, it’s the best feeling I’ve had.”
¡Golazo desde medio campo! Kenny McLean y Escocia al Mundial 2026 #EliminatoriasEnViX pic.twitter.com/extH6jqkOX
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) November 18, 2025
Scottish watch party responds to Kenny McLean’s midfield goal that seals a spot in the World Cup
Imagine not loving footballpic.twitter.com/FYzhIyxsPb
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) November 18, 2025
Having missed a chance Tuesday to book its ticket to North America next year, Denmark still earned another shot at qualification by virtue of finishing second in its group. While the 12 European group winners automatically joined the World Cup field, the dozen runners-up move on to a 16-team tournament to send four more sides from the continent. Rounding out that field will be the four teams from UEFA’s 2024-25 Nations League competition with the highest rankings among the sides that didn’t finish in the top two in their respective World Cup qualifying groups.
Joining Scotland as group winners Tuesday were Austria — which also hasn’t been to a World Cup since 1998 — as well as Belgium, Spain and Switzerland. Previously, the seven other groups were won by Croatia, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal.
In addition to Denmark, group play runners-up include: Albania, Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales. The four nations set to also compete for the four remaining European berths are: Northern Ireland, North Macedonia, Romania and Sweden. That playoff will take place in March, with the World Cup unfolding from June 11 to July 19.
Ireland will be looking to reach a World Cup for the first time since 2002, and it has Troy Parrott to thank for its playoff berth. In need of a win Sunday but down 2-1 to Hungary in the second half of their Group F match, Ireland had already seen Parrott score its opening goal. The 23-year-old striker, heretofore not a particularly well-known figure on the world stage, summoned even more brilliance Sunday with an 80th-minute tally and then the game-winner six minutes into stoppage time.
Troy Parrott, take your place on the pantheon of Irish greats
pic.twitter.com/KATKNMZO4g
— Ireland Football
Adding to the remarkable nature of Parrott’s scoring eruption, his hat trick came one match after he scored both goals in Ireland’s 2-0 victory over Portugal and its resident superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo. While Parrott more than made his mark on the matchup, Ronaldo was sent off for elbowing Ireland defender Dara O’Shea, garnering his first red card in 226 international appearances. That, in turn, mandated a one-match ban for Ronaldo, who sat out Portugal’s win over Armenia on Sunday that finished its group-play run. It remains possible that Ronaldo’s punishment could turn into a multi-match suspension, if FIFA deems his act notably violent, which might then sideline him for the start of the World Cup.
As with Scotland and Austria, Norway’s group win gave it a berth in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Despite their lack of experience on the World Cup stage, the Norwegians could be a threat thanks to Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard and Machester City striker Erling Haaland. Haaland scored a record-tying 16 goals in eight qualifying matches for Norway, which went undefeated and racked up an astonishing goal differential of plus-32.
Over Scotland’s six qualifying matches — it had three opponents in its group, to four for Norway — it managed a goal differential of just plus-six, lowest among the group winners. None of that mattered on Tuesday, however, after a victory that will long be savored in the Highlands.
“The atmosphere in here, the whole place deserves it,” McLean said of the jubilant scene in Glasgow, “It’s been a long time. To do it late on feels a bit more special.”
The post With a bicycle kick and a blast from midfield, Scotland heads to World Cup
appeared first on Washington Post.
