Scotland face one-game shootout with excitement

Focus is all on a win tonight against Denmark that would guarantee reaching the finals for the first time since 1998

- Ewan Murray

Wounding events in modern history mean Scotland can not be a football country that expects. It is, however, one on tenterhooks as the prospect of long-awaited World Cup qualification looms so large.

On paper, the task is simple: beat Denmark at Hampden Park tonight and the Scots will take a place in next summer's tournament. It is the significance of progress that matters far more than the fact the Danes are ranked 18 places higher in the world.

Scotland have not played in the World Cup since 1998. You must go back to 1989 for the last time they qualified for anything in front of a Hampden audience. This ranks as a game for the ages. Potentially.

The testimony of Andy Robertson is fascinating in this context. The Liverpool fullback and Scotland captain knows a thing or two about marquee achievement. He has 89 caps. What would leading his country to a World Cup mean? "I don't like thinking about it and that's the honest answer," he said. "I'm excited and looking forward to a one-game shootout for the World Cup. If it happens, I'll tell you how I feel about it."

There is a danger Scotland could get swallowed up by a wave of emotion. Denmark, serial tournament participants, will surely be poised to take advantage in that circumstance.