Scotland climb into world top 30 after Euro 2024 qualifying wins over Norway and Georgia

Scotland’s Euro 2024 wins over Norway and Georgia have seen the national team climb into the top 30 of the FIFA world rankings.

Steve Clarke’s side continued their winning start to Euros qualifying with two victories earlier this month and took another significant step towards reaching next year’s finals in Germany.

In addition to a valuable six points that keep Scotland at the top of Group A at the half-way point in their campaign, the wins have also boosted the team up the rankings.

After the last round of games, the side sat 36th in the world but have now climbed to 30th place, leapfrogging Chile, Egypt and Wales among others.

Scotland had begun the year with a 3-0 win over Cyprus and a 2-0 victory over top seeds Spain but faced a tough task to build on that in June’s matches.

A trip to face Norway saw Clarke’s side face Manchester City star Erling Haaland among others, and after the striker had put his side ahead at the Ullevaal Stadium, Scotland bounced back with goals from Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean to claim a dramatic 2-1 win.

That set up an opportunity to keep momentum going against Georgia and Scotland took another three points in unusual circumstances.

Scotland took to the pitch at Hampden after torrential rain had fallen at the national stadium. Shortly after kick-off, with Scotland 1-0 ahead through a Callum McGregor goal, play was stopped and only resumed after a 90-minute delay.

After the restart, Scott McTominay netted in the second half, sealing a 2-0 win and ensuring that Scotland can look forward to the remaining four group games with optimism.