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Although he didn’t play in Tuesday night’s unbelievable 4-2 home win over Denmark which sealed Scotland men’s team’s first qualification for a World Cup in 27 years, Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain was at the forefront of the post-match on-pitch celebrations with delighted head coach Steve Clarke.
Scotland – with 42-year-old Craig Gordon between the sticks – prevailed in the most dramatic of circumstances at Hampden Park, with Scott McTominay’s spectacular third-minute overhead kick putting Clarke’s men ahead before the Danes equalised in controversial circumstances when Rasmus Hojlund netted a 57th-minute penalty after a VAR review following Andy Robertson’s challenge on Gustav Isaksen.
Scotland – who had earlier lost the impressive Ben Gannon-Doak to a hamstring injury – were then boosted when the Danes were reduced to 10 men when Rasmus Kristensen was sent off for a soft second booking.
The Scots took a dramatic 2-1 lead with 12 minutes left in this Group C clash when Lawrence Shankland converted from point blank range after a Lewis Ferguson corner.
Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain embraces Scotland head coach Steve Clarke after Tuesday night's sensational 4-2 win over Denmark (Pic Rob Casey/SNS Group)placeholder image
Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain embraces Scotland head coach Steve Clarke after Tuesday night's sensational 4-2 win over Denmark (Pic Rob Casey/SNS Group)
But the nation’s hearts were broken again within three minutes as Patrick Dorgu swept home the goal which looked like booking Denmark’s spot in the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer while condemning Scotland to a play-off place.
If the sight of Dorgu’s strike could scarcely have been more gut-wrenching for the Tartan Army, then what happened in injury time induced emotions of joyous delirium on a scale not matched since Craig Brown led Scotland to their last World Cup at France 1998.
Celtic star Kieran Tierney thumped home a wonderful left-footed effort two minutes into overtime and then the icing on the cake was produced in scarcely believable fashion as Gannon-Doak’s first half replacement Kenny McLean spotted Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel way off his goal line and lobbed the ball home from the halfway line.
The vast majority of the 49,587 crowd partied well after full-time as Clarke and his players embraced on the pitch, wreathed in smiles and clearly full of considerable emotion at the magnitude of what they had just achieved.
Post match, Scotland captain Andy Robertson paid tribute to former Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota, who died this summer in a road traffic accident.
"I've hid it well, but today I've been in bits," the 31-year-old said. "I know the age I'm at, this could be my last chance to go to the World Cup.
"I couldn't get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today. We spoke so much about going to the World Cup because he missed the last one with Portugal and I did with Scotland. I know he'll be smiling over me today.
"I'm so glad it's ended up this way. This group of boys, this group of staff - it's the best group I've been involved in.
"The manager's speech before the game was unbelievable. He went through the big moments we've had. Qualifying for the Euros - he couldn't quite remember - we were in Wunderbar. He said 'let's make it another one'.
"We were quite emotional. To do it for him, the staff and all our families, it'll go down as one of the greatest nights of my life."
Scotland don’t have long to wait to find out who they will face in the group stages of next summer’s World Cup, with the draw being made on Friday, December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Away from the astonishing drama at Hampden Park, earlier in the day there was also international joy for Bain’s Falkirk team-mates Connor Allan and Barney Stewart, both involved as Scotland under-21s won 1-0 at home to Bulgaria under-21s at Fir Park in a UEFA U21 Championship Group B qualifier.
Dire Mebude’s first half penalty won it, with defender Allan playing the full 90 minutes and striker Stewart coming on as a 66th-minute substitute for Andrew Tod.
This win for Scotland under-21s came three days after they had recorded a 2-0 victory at their Gibraltar counterparts.
In a game which saw Allan again play the full match and Stewart come on as an 87th-minute substitute for James Wilson, the visitors sealed the three points thanks to a cool first half finish from Wilson and Steven’s cross then flying into the net after 82 minutes.
Scotland under-21s, third in the group with 10 points from six matches, are next in qualification action in spring 2026, at home to Czechia under-21s on March 27 and away to Portugal under-21s four days later.
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