Why Scotland is still in the World Cup even though they’re not among the top eight third-placed teams
Scotland is close to being knocked out of the World Cup since they are currently outside the top eight third-placed teams. But the good news is, they still have a chance to stay in the tournament.
Steve Clarke’s team started strong with a 1-0 win over Haiti but then lost to Morocco and Brazil. After the tough loss to Brazil, a five-time world champion, their future in the competition looks uncertain, and they’ll have to wait for other game results to see if they can keep playing this summer in North America.
Right now, Scotland is ninth among the third-placed teams, but because some groups haven’t finished their matches yet, there’s still a chance they can move up if the results go their way—even though Clarke thinks they might be going home.
At the moment, Croatia and Algeria are just above Scotland because of a better goal difference. But if Croatia loses by three goals to Ghana or Algeria loses by two goals to Austria, Scotland could move up in the rankings.
Scotland will also be watching three other games closely since their outcomes could really help. In Group H, if Egypt beats Iran, the third-placed team there will only have two points. Scotland also needs Spain to beat Uruguay so Uruguay will finish with just two points, falling behind Scotland as the best third-placed team.
Finally, Scotland is hoping Uzbekistan earns their first-ever World Cup point by winning or drawing against DR Congo. If Uzbekistan does win, Scotland will just hope Cannavaro’s team doesn’t win by four or more goals.
While it might seem unlikely for all these things to happen, football is full of surprises—so there’s still hope for Scotland to move forward in the World Cup this summer!