Before it all started to get trippy, Scotland were losing 3-0 and Denmark were winning 1-0, a series of results that made Scottish hopes of automatic qualification a dead duck. Hampden would not have its howitzer showdown. The play-offs beckoned. Oh well. Luck had run out. It was bound to in the end. And then. And then.
What madness was this coming down the line from the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. Belarus, with a world ranking of 103, had scored a 62nd minute equaliser against Denmark with a world ranking of 20. Denmark, the top of the table thrusters, being held by Belarus, the bottom of the table whipping boys?
And now, three minutes later, a goal for Ben Gannon-Doak to make it 3-1, a just reward for all of Scotland’s pressure towards the end of the first half that saw Scott McTominay’s shot from distance come slapping back off Greece’s crossbar, that also saw Che Adams miss from close-range just before Gannon-Doak did likewise.
Noise and hope for the visiting fans. A draw in Denmark meant that Scotland could still qualify automatically with a win against the Danes at Hampden on Tuesday. Direct entry to the World Cup was back on. Cancel the sob stories. A dream was alive despite Greece lording it.
But hold up, what lunacy is this? Within seconds of Gannon-Doak’s goal, Denmark 1 Belarus 2. And five minutes after that, Greece 3 Scotland 2, Ryan Christie heading home. Goals flying around like snuff at a wake. The Tartan Army in delirium. Scotland driving at Greece’s heart in a bid to sicken them again after sickening them at Hampden earlier in the group.
In that moment the Greeks might have looked at Scotland as something from a Hollywood B movie, an evil creature in a lagoon, riddled with bullets, stake through the heart, as dead as dead can be only for a hand to come shooting out of the water to signify life and menace.
McTominay came within a Odysseas Vlachodimos wonder save from making it 3-2. Then, a red card from Tasos Bakasetas, the Greece captain. Then, more Scotland pressure. Then, a Denmark leveller. Then, a wait.
Some of the Scotland players hung about on the pitch to hear the final score from Copenhagen, A Denmark winner was the doomsday, the mood killer for Tuesday night when the sides come together.
Seconds went by and then confirmation. A draw, “Winner takes all at Hampden,” gushed Andy Robertson. Rarely in football has one man sounded so happy after losing a game of football that everyone thought they could not afford to lose.
A gigantic favour from Belarus? In the millions of words said and written in the preamble to this game, in all the different scenarios presented about how it might all pan out, nobody came up with this. Nobody saw this twist in the tale. A clairvoyant wouldn’t have called it. Mystic Meg on her best day wouldn’t have predicted it.
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