Scotland stay in contention, Dutch prevail

Scotland ground out a 2-1 home win over Belarus on Sunday to stay in contention for automatic qualification to the 2026 World Cup, while the Netherlands closed in on securing their berth at the tournament with a win over Finland.

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Scotland's Scott McTominay, right, in action against Belarus.REUTERS

Steve Clarke's Scotland sit joint top of Group C with Denmark, after the Danes beat Greece 3-1 with Rasmus Hojlund opening the scoring for the home team.

Denmark are first in the pool on goal difference but their win in Copenhagen ensured Scotland of at least a playoff spot as they bid to make a first World Cup appearance since 1998.

The pool-toppers meet in the final qualification matchday on Nov 18 in Glasgow.

“We know every game from now until the end is so important,’ Scott McTominay told BBC Scotland after defeating Belarus.

“It's been good in terms of points picked up but we know we've got to be better than what we've shown, everybody does, me included.

“We've got to be at a higher standard than this.”