It is fair to say there is a sense of elation in Scotland after Steve Clarke guided the National Team through to the World Cup Finals on Wednesday night (18 November) at Hampden Park with a 4-2 victory over top seeds Denmark…
As a result the Danes have been diverted to the playoffs after failing to match the desire, intensity and clinical finishing of the Scots who had waited 27 years for this moment to come around again. And the Tartan Army will head to North America, elated like lucky winners on various entertainment platforms and games of chance, much like the thrill players feel when exploring the best poker sites Florida has to offer — where excitement, unpredictability and high stakes often collide. Their energy, passion and unmistakable presence will certainly be felt, as they always travel in huge numbers and support their team in an overwhelmingly positive manner.
And no-one can reasonably grudge the Scots their achievement, winning a group that also contained the highly fancied Greece side who don’t even have a play-off place to console them. They were second seats behind the Danes with Scotland (3rd seed) and Belarus (4th seed) making up the numbers in Group C of the European qualifying sections that ended last night with no greater acclaim than awaited the Scots from 50,000 inside Hampden Park to the millions watching the match on television.
And it was broadcast on terrestrial television on the BBC so the audience will have been significantly larger than in recent times when the Scots alone among the UK nations had to watch on subscription channels or not at all.
Denmark clearly are a very good side but when an opponent puts in a performance like Scotland and hit you with not one or even two but three world class goals than the odds are always going to be stacked against you and so it transpired for this Danish side. They ended up rueing their own slackness in failing to defeat Belarus in the Parken in Copenhagen three days earlier.
Had they done so, and remember they recently defeated Belarus 6-0 in the away leg which was played in Hungary behind closed doors due to the FIFA restrictions imposed on Belarus due to the war in Ukraine, then the Hampden game would have been nothing more than a dead rubber. Denmark essentially shot themselves in the foot ahead of their trip to Hampden and having left the qualification door ajar the Scots quite brilliantly kicked it open.
So what was the reaction back in Denmark after their shock 4-2 defeat to Scotland? Here’s what the Danish media have had to say…
Bold – “What a gigantic drama! Denmark is not sure of making it to the World Cup next summer in the USA, Mexico and Canada. It ended 2-4 against Scotland and the Danish defeat must be described as a huge disappointment and failure. Football is a brutal game. And on one night at Hampden Park, Denmark felt the brutality firsthand. A botched pass away from his own area from Morten Hjumand ended up outside the box with Kieran Tierney who thundered the ball into the goal beyond Kasper Schmeichel’s reach.”
TV 2 Sport – “Denmark has made a fool of itself too many times. It’s too many times to get points in these games. Scott McTominay gave Scotland the best possible start against Denmark when he rose into the air after three minutes and scissor-kicked the ball into the goal. A goal for which Gustav Isaksen takes his hat off. The goal he scores… I think it’s the best goal I’ve seen in the games I’ve played. That’s what happens. I think we react really well and get back into the game.”
NI – “The Danish national football team must go through playoff matches in March if Denmark is to succeed in participating in this summer’s World Cup finals in North America. That’s a fact after Denmark threw away a direct World Cup ticket in extra time on Tuesday evening at a bitterly cold Hampden Park, where Scotland won 4-2 and took the group victory. Before the wild finish, the spectators witnessed a highly dramatic showdown, where Scotland scored on a penalty kick, but threw away two leads, while Denmark received both a penalty kick and a red card.”
Tipsbladet – “Denmark were not ready at all from the start at Hampden Park, where the Danish players had several turnovers and lost close games before Scott McTominay scissor-kicked the Scots in front. Brian Riemer’s team seemed nervous and the game was too slow. Denmark got a lifeline with the penalty kick and also came back again when Patrick Dorgu scored to make it 2-2, but it was not enough. Denmark should have won this group and qualified for the World Cup, but they did not manage to do so, and of course that puts Brian Riemer in a bad light.”
