Scotland eliminated from the World Cup (Image: MB Media, Getty Images)
Ghana failed to beat Croatia by three points, and Scotland was eliminated from the World Cup. The Tartan Army’s fate was finally sealed three days after they suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat against Brazil. That’s because other results revealed they failed to qualify for the round of 32 knockout stages as one of the third-placed teams.
Only the top eight of the 12 third-placed teams advanced, with Scotland paying the ultimate price. They are already in 10th place, below the qualifying mark, going into the final three groups, and Croatia’s avoidance of defeat makes it impossible to close the gap.
Scotland’s hopes were dashed after just 30 minutes when Petar Sučić put Croatia ahead with a stunning long-range strike. Derrick Lucassen pulled one back for the African team, but Ghana were unable to inspire themselves enough to keep Scotland’s dream alive and Croatia won 2-1 with Nikola Vlasic scoring.
As a result, Scotland finished third in Group C with three points and will continue to wait for their first appearance in the World Cup final round. That spot was already secured ahead of Wednesday’s game against Brazil, and a 1-0 opening game win was enough to knock Haiti out of the table.
However, Steve Clarke’s team suffered a devastating blow on goal difference against Brazil. Vinicius Junior scored two goals before the break, and Matheus Cunha added a third after the break to seal a commanding victory for the Selecao.
Scotland manager Clarke admitted that their chances of progressing to the next stage were effectively over at that point, despite Opta’s predictive model giving them a 24.9 per cent chance of promotion. “Well, for me, I definitely think I’m going home,” Clark told reporters.
Much of their fate depended on the results of the Czech Republic and Mexico, and the clashes between South Africa and South Korea. Mexico delivered exactly what they needed with a convincing 3-0 win, while South Africa shocked their Asian rivals with a 1-0 win.
The result was a devastating blow to Scotland’s qualification prospects, with Bafana Bafana securing second place in their group. South Korea fell to third place, with Scotland falling further down on goal difference.
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Croatia beats Ghana (Image: Getty)
Scotland had fallen from 3rd place to 7th in the standings ahead of the match on June 25th, and were on the brink of qualifying, with only the top 8 teams in 3rd place able to earn a place in the finals. Their fate depended on the outcome of their Group E matches as Thursday’s simultaneous kick-off approached at 9pm (BST).
Ecuador are in third place with a one-point difference ahead of their final match against Germany, while Curacao occupy fourth place before facing Ivory Coast.
Scotland realized that if Ecuador failed to defeat Germany and Curaçao failed to defeat Ivory Coast, the Tartan Army would leapfrog both countries in the standings. But Ecuador’s unexpected victory compounded their misery.
According to Opta, Scotland had less than a 0.1 per cent chance of progressing going into the final day of the group stage. All of the following needed to be done:
Ghana defeats Croatia by 3 or more goals.
Uzbekistan wins or draws against Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Austria defeats Algeria by more than two goals.
Scotland needed a miracle to regain qualification. (Image: Getty)
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Even if Scotland miraculously qualified, they would have faced a difficult road in the second half of the tournament. From Group C, there was a chance they would play the winners of Groups A, E and I, as well as hosts Mexico, Germany and France.
A match against Mexico could have seen them face England in the Round of 16, but such a scenario proved academic.
Given their underwhelming performance in North America, and their only goal coming against Haiti, their ardent supporters may have been spared further distress. Ultimately, as Clark correctly predicted, the tournament’s most vocal fans are now heading home.
