🔗 Share this article

Hampden Park has witnessed countless historic moments over its illustrious history dating back to 1903. Add this one to the list. The Scottish long drought is over. The manager, Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay, the playmaker; they will be at the World Cup. Along with them Kieran Tierney, whose curling strike from 22 yards seemed to have sealed victory by the odd goal in five before the substitute produced an more spectacular fourth.

Nearly three decades of disappointment, during which the Scottish men's team have watched men’s World Cups from a distance, were wiped away as Denmark suffered a loss in added time. Grown men in traditional dress wept. The Danish participation in next summer’s jamboree hinges on qualifiers. The coach and a now giddy country can prepare solid arrangements.

PhD students could write work on how on earth the team achieved this. They looked defeated at moments, just days before Saturday when falling to defeat in Athens. It was like destiny had decreed the Scottish team had waited quite enough for a place in the tournament. The actions of the defender and McLean were remarkable.

The Match Kicks Off

The evening had apparently opened in challenging fashion for Scotland. The defender, who had been scheduled to play alongside the centre-back in defense, was hurt in the warmup. Grant Hanley took his place. Any sense of problem was dispelled in the opening moments.

This was among the most wondrous strikes produced at Hampden in living memory.

Ben Gannon-Doak maneuvered on the right. His lofted cross ought to have been challenging for the midfielder to handle. He was facing away from the net, to begin with. Rather, McTominay catapulted himself into the sky and planted an bicycle kick beyond the grasp of the goalkeeper. This famous venue roared, not just in appreciation of the early lead but the unique circumstances in which it arrived. Wow.

Midfield Battle

McTominay was playing like a driven individual. Gannon-Doak appeared electric. Scottish offense shone in attacking aggressively; Craig Gordon blocked from Rasmus Højlund after the Denmark forward was through on goal. The assistant's flag was up but Højlund might have survived a second check if it had been necessary. As a Danish player flashed a ball across the Scotland area and the defender blocked well from Victor Froholdt, the Scots were in a contest to keep their lead.

Gannon-Doak had unnerved the Danish team with his pace. It felt a significant blow to the manager, at that point, as the Bournemouth man strained when trying to stop a cross. He left the field on a stretcher after only the opening period.

The striker soon had the ball in the net but was penalised for a push on Aaron Hickey. By the half-hour, the team were living far too dangerously, a point highlighted as Hanley deflected a midfielder shot narrowly off target. Yet Scotland made it to the halftime unscathed. They were also robbed of a golden chance of a two-goal lead, Rasmus Kristensen smartly fouling the midfielder, receiving a yellow card, after the midfielder capitalised on opposition mistakes.

Final Period Action

Højlund forced the keeper into a smart, low save within 90 seconds of the restart. If Scotland were going to qualify, the remainder would feel like the 27 years since their last World Cup. Considering the visitors only required a tie, the flow of attacks right from the start of the second period felt threatening for the hosts. Scotland were succeeding – to a point – in disrupting Danish offensives but promptly handing the possession right back to the players in red.

As the equaliser came, it came with the scent of controversy involved.

The official originally saw no foul with the captain's tackle on the winger on the edge of the penalty area. In fact, it seemed Isaksen flung himself into the air. After being instructed to check by the VAR, Szymon Marciniak awarded the spot. Højlund drilled home. On the balance, parity was the least the away side deserved but Scotland had cause to be upset about the call.

Final Action

All this action-packed encounter lacked was a red card. It came on the hour, Kristensen second foul of the night on a attacking McGinn earning another caution. Then the coach twisted by throwing on the strikers one substitute and Che Adams.

This decision was to work out. The Danish marking of an inswinging Lewis Ferguson set piece was poor, allowing Shankland to finish. The Hearts frontman, brought on for his goal-scoring ability, produced precisely that. The Danish head coach the coach, though, had reason to be upset at how easy it was.

Scotland had little time to extend their advantage. In a short time, a Danish player stroked home after a teammate laid into his path 12 yards from goal. On this occasion the defense were overly careless.

Adams directed a shot wide. The midfielder's curling attempt narrowly went past the upright. Enter the defender and a strike capable of deciding any match. The substitute provided the finish: from the halfway line, no less.