Article body analysed

Off the Ball unpicks Scotland's stunning win over Greece BBC Radio Scotland This video can not be played Off the Ball unpicks Scotland's stunning win over Greece BBC Radio Scotland Listen to Off the Ball by hitting 'listen live' above Tsimikas gives dominant Greece lead just after hour Christie leveller within two minutes given after lengthy VAR check & Ferguson slashes Scots in front late on Dykes then slaps in late third after horrendous goalkeeper mistake Scotland level with Denmark at top of World Cup qualifying group Win over Belarus on Sunday, plus Greek defeat in Denmark, will clinch play-off Have your say on the action Scott Mullen Denmark now five goals up. We've just seen a still of the onside call for that goal. I don't really want anyone official to look at it again until we're at full-time. Let's trust that's a Greek ankle sticking out just behind Scott Mc Tominay. .. Scotland 1-1 Greece Nick Mc Pheat BBC Scotland at Hampden The noise in this place will not let this team play with the handbrake on now. Wow, we're rocking. Scotland 1-1 Greece Michael Stewart Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound How on this green earth is this 1-1? THE GOAL STANDS! Game on. We're still waiting. We're now waiting on a video assistant referee check. Was Grant Hanley offside? Ryan Christie This video can not be played Christie leveller SCENES ON TOAST. Anthony Ralston lobs the ball back into the net from a Scotland corner. It's nodded on by Grant Hanley with Ryan Christie bundling it in. Scotland 0-1 Greece Steven Thompson Former Rangers striker on BBC Scotland You can't say it wasn't coming and it's what we deserve. This Scotland performance has been diabolical. Konstantinos Tsimikas This video can not be played Seconds after poor Scotland's brightest player is substituted off, Greece take a deserved lead. A free cutback, a free pass inside, with the ball bouncing to Tsimikas around eight yards out who steers the ball into the bottom corner. Scotland in big trouble here. Scotland 0-0 Greece James Mc Fadden Former Scotland forward on BBC Scotland I cannot believe he's taken Gannon-Doak off. He's Scotland's outlet with his pace. Scotland 0-0 Greece Michael Stewart Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound I cannae believe Ben Gannon-Doak has been taken off. Scotland 0-0 Greece Nick Mc Pheat BBC Scotland at Hampden While Scotland fans are happy to see Billy Gilmour, there were definitely some boos in there for the decision to remove Ben Gannon-Doak. Scotland have no pace in this team now, but they will hope to have more control. Scotland 0-0 Greece Here comes Billy Gilmour as well in what will surely be a tactical switch rather than through injury. Ben Gannon-Doak is the one to come off. The Bournemouth man is shaking his head as he trudges off around the side of the park. Hmm. Scotland 0-0 Greece Michael Stewart Former Scotland midfielder on BBC Sportsound Greece are still picking Scotland off. Outnumbered, overrun. Scotland 0-0 Greece Uh oh. Aaron Hickey is lying on the deck getting treatment. Steve Clarke glances down the line and calls for Anthony Ralston. Scotland 0-0 Greece Giorgos Masouras lashes over the net while free in the box. This can't keep going on, surely. "A real lack of energy and intent, it's far too easy" says James Mc Fadden. Make no mistake, Scotland have 35 minutes if they want to avoid needing a miracle to top this group. Scotland's first shot since the third minute is a wayward Grant Hanley header which nearly hits the boy in the Greek end with the trumpet. Scotland 0-0 Greece Willie Miller Former Scotland captain on BBC Sportsound Scotland have to be better. This video can not be played Scotland V Greece Highlights Scotland took a significant step towards securing a World Cup play-off place as Lewis Ferguson's first international goal helped secure an unlikely comeback win over a dominant Greece at Hampden. In a record-equalling 71st game for head coach Steve Clarke, the Scots were aiming to avenge the Nations League relegation inflicted on them by the classy Greeks at this stadium in March. For over an hour, Clarke's men were timid and outplayed again by their visitors, who should have been at least three up by the time Roma left-back Kostas Tsimikas drilled in on the rebound just after the hour. There were loud boos from the Tartan Army, but Ryan Christie quickly equalised in the aftermath of a corner - an effort which survived a lengthy VAR check - to stage a remarkable fightback. How Scotland can guarantee play-off place by Sunday How does Scotland's record-equalling Clarke stack up? And when Ferguson slashed in from close range after a scrappy free-kick with 10 minutes left, the disgruntlement among the home fans turned to euphoria as Clarke's resilient side went on to claim a priceless victory. That was only amplified when Lyndon Dykes capitalised on calamitous goalkeeping from Konstantinos Tzolakis to smash in a third, just moments after Angus Gunn pulled off a stunning stoppage-time save to deny Konstantinos Karetsas. If Scotland defeat bottom seeds Belarus on Sunday and Greece are defeated in Denmark, Clarke's men will be guaranteed one of the top two places in the group, ensuring at worst they will be in the play-offs for the finals next summer. No-one has now managed Scotland's men in more matches than Clarke, and his 71st game tells the story of why fans have been polarised about his impact during his six years in charge. For the majority of this qualifier, the Scots looked like they were playing with the handbrake on. They failed to have a shot on target in the first half. Vangelis Pavlidis somehow failed to divert into an open goal from just yards out. The Benfica striker then had his head in his hands again just after the interval when he nodded over. Giorgos Masouras flashed off target from close range soon after. The mood at Hampden was bordering on toxic. But Scotland said no. When they should have been at least three down, Clarke's players gritted their teeth and displayed the resilience that has taken them to two major tournaments under this head coach, scoring three goals from nowhere. Three games down, three to go on the road to the United States, Canada and Mexico. Write these players and this head coach off at your peril. Scotland head coach Steve Clarke: "You have to understand how hard we worked out of possession. When they scored the goal, the shackles came off a bit and from there we finished the game strong. "Football is a 90-minute game and you have to make sure you come out of it with a positive result. 3-1 maybe flatters us, but we did enough to win the game. "It gives us three points and takes us one step closer to what we want to do. We have to win here and see what the situation is after that. " Scotland goalscorer Lewis Ferguson: "It means everything. Playing here in front of our home crowd, it's so important to pick up maximum points and we did that. "This game means nothing if we don't win on Sunday. We'll recover and go again. " Scotland goalscorer Ryan Christie: "Massive win. We're not naive enough to know we weren't at our best. But the reaction to going 1-0 down was brilliant. "Two massive games - that's one ticked off and now onto Sunday. " Scotland have lost just one of their last 10 World Cup qualifiers (W8 D1 L1). They have scored three goals at Hampden for the first time since a 3-3 draw with Norway in November 2023 - across those two games they have registered just five shots on target, scoring with all three here. Dykes netted his 10th Scotland goal in his 45th appearance. He is the 25th different player to net more than 10 goals for the nation. Scotland trailed for just two minutes and 16 seconds after Greece's goal, with Ryan Christie equalising with Scotland's first shot on target. John Mc Ginn made his 80th appearance for Scotland, moving him level with Darren Fletcher. Only Kenny Dalglish (102), Jim Leighton (91), Andy Robertson (87) and Craig Gordon (81) have made more. After winning four consecutive matches between March and September, Greece have now lost back-to-back matches for the first time since September 2023. In World Cup qualifying, Greece have lost four of their last six (W1 D1). Kostas Tsimikas netted his first goal for club or country in seven years and 156 days, since netting for Willem II against Vitesse in May 2018 in the Eredivisie. Scotland host bottom seeds Belarus at Hampden on Sunday at 17: 00 BST - live on the BBC - before Greece kick off in Denmark (19: 45). Lewis Ferguson and Ryan Christie will both be suspended for that Glasgow encounter after picking up second yellow cards. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Last Updated 9th October 2025 at 21: 57 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Steve Clarke Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Ivan Jovanovic Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Steve Clarke Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Ivan Jovanovic Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 UEFA World Cup Qualifiers All competitions All competitions All competitions Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.