Denmark v Scotland: Scotland aim for lift-off in World Cup qualifying campaign

When Scotland last reached a World Cup, the qualification campaign started with a 0-0 draw in Austria on August 31, 1996, and ended, gloriously, with a 2-0 win over Latvia on October 11, 1997, that sent Craig Brown’s side to France ’98.

From that first kick of the ball to the last, 406 days have elapsed.

On Friday night, when Steve Clarke’s side begin the road to World Cup 2026, they will set the ball rolling on a 74-day spell that could deliver a joyous return to the main stage, a brutal end to the Tartan Army’s hopes, or set up an even more nerve-wracking play-off path where any slip-up would mean watching from afar next summer.

And as if there wasn’t enough on the line, Clarke is reaching the end of his contract. Failure to reach North America would undoubtedly mean the end of his time as head coach.

The Scotland boss is determined that won’t happen in the next few months though, and has all his focus on making sure he is in charge of a successful side competing in Canada, the United States and Mexico next June.

To do that, Scotland have to successfully come through a World Cup qualification campaign for the first time in 27 years and things have changed a lot since the road to France.

On that occasion, the ten-game qualification series allowed room for error, and Scotland had two draws and a loss from their 16-month campaign.

Drawn in a four-game group with Denmark, Greece and Belarus this time, it will all be over much more quickly.

Friday’s match away to Denmark is the first of six games, neatly split into three double-headers and set across September, October and November like a three-act play.

Performances will be important but points are vital, and Scotland begin with what is, on paper, the hardest game to get any from.

Denmark are the group’s top seeds and the bookmakers’ favourites to win the section and take the automatic qualification spot for North America. Scotland’s ambitions to beat them to that spot, or even to finish second and go to the play-offs, are likely to rest on taking something from the Danes, either at home or away.

Clarke’s side will come up against a squad that’s drawn from across Europe’s best league and has a host of familiar names. Former Spurs and current Marseille midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg captains the team, while Barcelona’s Andreas Christiansen, Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard, and Napoli’s Rasmus Hojlund are among the more recognisable names.

Former Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is another familiar face, while current Parkhead goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel is in line for his 115th cap.

Recent form hasn’t been stellar, with only five wins from their last 12 games but notably within that run is that the wins all came in Denmark and included victories against Switzerland, Serbia and Portugal.

Clarke tends to put his focus on his own side more than the opposition and is hoping for a positive start that could go a long way in carrying the side through a short campaign.

The head coach can look at his own squad and see some players who can match Denmark’s when looking at the level where they play their club football, and a mixture of experience and youth within that group.

Scott McTominay arrived at the international camp as a Ballon D’Or nominee after an inspirational first season at Napoli and he has begun this season in strong form. Former Motherwell midfielder Lennon Miller is in the squad after joining Udinese at just 18 and there are six Serie A players in total in the squad.

Attacker Ben Gannon Doak has sealed a permanent move to Bournemouth and the teenager can bring a spark and creativity if called upon by Clarke. The likes of John McGinn, Andy Robertson, Che Adams and Lyndon Dykes bring plenty of know-how and have the experience of the relative success in recent years.

While there’s talent to draw upon, Clarke doesn’t have his problems to seek. Of his three goalkeepers – Angus Gunn, Zander Clark and Liam Kelly – only Clark is playing regularly but has been out of form.

Kieran Tierney and Anthony Ralston have withdrawn from the initial squad, and he doesn’t have the depth in defence that he has in midfield. And even with Adams and Dykes both fit and in the squad, alongside in-form Keiron Bowie and George Hirst, there is still a shortage of goals in the strikers.

More importantly, Clarke will feel he is trying to lift the squad again after a difficult first half of 2025.

A 1-0 win away to Greece was welcome but a 3-0 home defeat to the same side was a grave warning of their level ahead of the upcoming games against the second seeds in Group C. And while Scotland’s last game was a 4-0 win in Liechtenstein, it did little to lift the mood from the 3-1 home defeat to Iceland days previously.

The head coach will seek to leave those results in the past and tell his players that they have a golden opportunity on Friday.

A defeat against the top seeds away from home wouldn’t end the campaign after just 90 minutes. But a positive result could be the perfect platform for the team to take a confident approach in the games to come and show belief in their undoubted ability.

The path to Euro 2024 was made to look easy as Scotland began strongly and put together a five-match winning run against a stronger group of opponents than the ones they face this time around. Arguably, the emergence of young players in the squad has given Clarke a stronger hand to play.

The head coach is never one to put too much weight on a single game if possible, and it’s more likely he will be setting a target for a points return across the double-header. Regardless, he will know that a win in Copenhagen would be worth much more than just three points in a cut-throat section where nobody will get much space to correct any mistakes.

When Scotland ended their long wait to play at a major finals by qualifying for Euro 2020, Ryan Christie was memorably emotional, tearful as he described the joy of taking that step forward as a team.

This week, he spoke to the media and made it clear the desire to succeed within the squad is greater than ever.

“Everyone knows how desperate we are to qualify for a World Cup,” he said. “With how amazing the Euros have been, the World Cup is probably the one thing left for this generation to do and tick off the list.

“It starts now, so we will need to get off to a good start.

“For the group of us who have qualified for the Euros this is the one thing left to do and we are desperate to qualify, as is the gaffer.”

In just 74 days, Christie and his teammates could be celebrating something special, and Clarke could be drawing up plans and making preparations for a World Cup. If things don’t go to plan, Scotland could be back at the drawing board and looking for a new head coach when there isn’t an obvious candidate right now.

Friday night’s result under the lights in Copenhagen won’t decide either of those outcomes, but it will set the tone for a campaign that might be short but will define a team and possibly Clarke’s tenure.