{"id":13384,"date":"2025-10-10T05:39:47","date_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:39:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/?p=13384"},"modified":"2025-10-10T05:39:49","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:39:49","slug":"scotland-soars-past-greece-3-1-win-puts-them-in-strong-world-cup-qualifier-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/?p=13384","title":{"rendered":"Scotland Soars Past Greece: 3-1 Win Puts Them in Strong World Cup Qualifier Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Scotland took a massive step toward qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/strong> with a 3\u20131 victory over Greece<\/strong> at Hampden Park<\/strong> on Thursday night. The win extends their unbeaten run in Group B and cements their reputation as one of Europe\u2019s most improved national sides under Steve Clarke<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a tense opening, Scotland found their rhythm when Scott McTominay<\/strong> opened the scoring with a clinical strike in the 28th minute his sixth goal in qualifying. Greece equalized just before half-time through Anastasios Bakasetas<\/strong>, but the home side showed resilience and determination in the second half.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John McGinn<\/strong> restored Scotland\u2019s lead from the penalty spot after a foul on Lyndon Dykes<\/strong>, before substitute Che Adams<\/strong> sealed the win late on with a composed finish. The roar inside Hampden reflected the team\u2019s growing belief and connection with the fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Manager Steve Clarke<\/strong> praised his team\u2019s focus and mentality:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThis group has matured so much. We\u2019re not just competing anymore we\u2019re controlling games. The players deserve all the credit for how far we\u2019ve come.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The victory keeps Scotland top of their qualifying group with 16 points from six matches, ahead of strong opponents like Croatia<\/strong> and Norway<\/strong>. With four games left to play, qualification for the 2026 World Cup which would be Scotland\u2019s first appearance since 1998 now looks more realistic than ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Midfielder McTominay<\/strong>, who continues to shine for both club and country, credited teamwork for the win:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve built a great spirit here. Everyone knows their role, and we fight for each other that\u2019s what makes this team special.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Scotland next travel to face Cyprus<\/strong> in their next qualifier, where another win could all but secure their place on football\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

\u26bd Key Points Recap:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  • Scotland defeated Greece 3\u20131 in World Cup qualifying.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Goals: McTominay, McGinn (pen), and Adams.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Clarke\u2019s side remains unbeaten in Group B.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Strong chance of qualifying for their first World Cup since 1998.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Next match: Scotland vs Cypru<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Scotland took a massive step toward qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 3\u20131 victory over Greece at Hampden Park on Thursday night. The win extends their unbeaten run in Group B and cements their reputation as one of Europe\u2019s most improved national sides under Steve Clarke. After a tense opening, Scotland found […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[265,266,264],"tags":[260,65,257,262,263,258,259,261,256,142],"class_list":["post-13384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international-football","category-uefa","category-world-cup-qualifiers","tag-andy-robertson","tag-football-news","tag-greece","tag-hampden-park","tag-international-football","tag-scotland","tag-scott-mctominay","tag-steve-clarke","tag-uefa","tag-world-cup-qualifiers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13384"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13386,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13384\/revisions\/13386"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}