Scotland learn World Cup qualifying opponents at FIFA draw in Zurich

Scotland have been drawn to face Denmark or Portugal, Greece and Belarus in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

The exact identity of the top seeds won’t be known until Portugal and Denmark meet in the Nations League quarter-finals, when the defeated side will go into Scotland’s qualifying group.

The matches against Greece will see Scotland face familiar opposition, with the teams already scheduled to face each other home and away in the Nations League play-off in March.

The draw took place in Zurich and laid out the pathway for Scotland to end their long exile from the tournament and book a place in the finals, which will be played in Canada, USA and Mexico.

Scotland’s performance in the Nations League, where they finished third in their League A group and set up a relegation play-off against Greece, meant the team was in the third pot of seeds.

Head coach Steve Clarke said: “I always just take the draw as it comes and I’m not one to overthink it but there’s lot of interesting matches. We know the Pot 1 game is going to be difficult but I think we’ve shown over the past few games that we can handle teams at that level. Looking at Denmark, that victory at Hampden in 2021 was a memorable night. We lost in Denmark and we then won by the same scoreline so we know what to expect from them.

“Obviously we played Portugal recently in the Nations League matches. We did well to get a point off them at Hampden and we played well over there.

“We will now play Greece four times in 2025 so we’ll get to know them very well and the March games now take on a slightly different meaning, with both teams having a close look at each other ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

“It’s funny how it happens that you don’t play a team for so long, then you end up playing them a number of times. It’s just one of the quirks of the draw. We know they will be good games. Greece went to Wembley and won – not many teams do that. We respect them a lot but we look forward to the games.

“Belarus is a team we’re not quite as familiar with but by the time we play them they will be a team we make sure we know everything about. For me it’s about getting to know their players, getting to know their tactics and hopefully we can take the points that we require.

“When I spoke after the tournament in the summer, I said that one of my main remaining ambitions is to go to a World Cup with my country. These qualifying games give me an opportunity to do that and I’m going to give it everything I’ve got and I’m sure my players will do the same.

“We’ve played teams at the highest level recently and we’ve seen that we have to be right at the top of our game to get points from them. It was a difficult year but we finished it well. We showed that we can compete against the top teams and that’s what we will have to do if we want to get to the World Cup

“The fact we have already seen so many supporters renewing their memberships, it shows that the supporters buy-in to this team and what we’re trying to achieve.

“The players are desperate to do well for their country and I think the supporters appreciate that. We want the supporters to be involved as much as possible because we saw in Germany that when the Tartan Army are in full voice, they are a force to be reckoned with.

“1998 was a long time ago and when it comes to World Cups, there’s no extra motivation required. The squad is full of players who want to go to the World Cup so now is the time to do it.”

From the 12 groups and 54 teams, only 16 will reach the finals.

Group winners will automatically book a place at the tournament, with the 12 runners-up going into play-offs – alongside the four best-ranked Nations League group winners – to fight for the four remaining places at the finals.

Qualifying matches are to be played from September to November next year.