HEAD RULES THE HEART IN PIRAEUS

Scots so close to ending World Cup exile but Greeks look good value for revenge

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I'M old enough to remember watching Scotland at three World Cups but there's a whole generation of fans who have never witnessed us taking part in the festival of football.

Now we're just 180 minutes away from ending an exile that stretches back to the last millennium and Tartan Army footsoldiers are dreaming of marching on the Americas next summer.

If Steve Clarke's men finish the job in the next few days, those young fans will finally get to experience the thrill of watching us lose narrowly to the top seeds, draw with a mid-ranking European side then crash out by losing the final group game to Cape Verde.

But getting over the line in qualifying is far from a simple task and the smart money is on Scotland putting us through another emotional rollercoaster in the playoffs.

Standard procedure in the big book of glorious failure would see us come through unscathed in Greece tonight then take the lead against Denmark at Hampden before conceding a stoppage-time leveller from a penalty.

But I've got a sneaking suspicion our hopes of topping Group C will come to an end in Piraeus tonight against a Greek side out for revenge.