Scotland kick off their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday night with a daunting trip to Copenhagen to face Denmark.
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- Denmark to win The Danes are odds on favourites for victory after winning three of their last four games, including one against Portugal, and head into World Cup qualifying as top seeds, while Scotland have lost two of their last three
- 3+ goals 11 goals have been scored in Scotland’s last three matches, while 15 have been scored in the same span of games in Denmark’s most recent outings.
- Scott McTominay to score After 13 goals last season for Napoli on his way to being named Serie A’s MVP, the midfielder has already opened his account for the new campaign and has a formidable goal scoring record for Scotland in qualifiers, with seven goals in his last eight
- John McGinn to have a shot on target The Aston Villa midfielder is the highest scorer in the Scotland squad with 20 goals to his name, at least eight more than any other teammate
Steve Clarke’s men are aiming to reach the tournament for the first time in 28 years, and their opener may well be the most difficult fixture on paper in the entire group.
Drawn alongside Denmark, Greece and Belarus, Scotland begin with back-to-back away matches: Friday in the Danish capital, followed by Belarus in Hungary on Monday night, played behind closed doors.
The Scots have fallen short in each of the last six World Cup qualification attempts, last reaching the finals in 1998.
However, they head into this campaign in decent form, having won four of their previous six matches in all competitions, including victories over Croatia, Poland and Greece.
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Denmark, by contrast, arrive as the top seeds in Group C. The Danes have qualified for the past four major tournaments and three of the last four World Cups.
Now under Brian Riemer — formerly Thomas Frank’s assistant at Brentford and a technical coach at Norwich — they continue to prove a formidable side. Last season they reached the Nations League quarter-finals, losing in extra time to eventual winners Portugal.
Since then, friendly wins over Northern Ireland and Lithuania have kept momentum going, with Denmark taking three wins from their last four outings and suffering just one defeat in five.
They will be confident heading into Friday’s clash before a testing away fixture in Greece on Monday.
Recent history, though, offers Scotland encouragement. They have won three of their last four meetings with Denmark, including their most recent encounter during 2022 World Cup qualifying, when both nations claimed 2-0 victories on home soil.
How to watch Denmark v Scotland
- Location: Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
- Date and time: Friday 5th September 2025, 7:45pm
- How to watch: BBC Scotland, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website
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