Scotland’s foes confirmed after Cristiano Ronaldo-fuelled drama as Celtic and Rangers stars play major part. Denmark will be Scotland’s first opponents in their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign after they lost out to Portugal in their dramatic Nations League quarter-final. With the loser of the tie to be placed into Group C of the World Cup qualifiers alongside Scotland, the Danes took a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg in Copenhagen to Lisbon. They were minutes away from holding out to secure their Nations League A status against the Portuguese, only for the hosts to win 3-2 across 90 minutes and then 5-2 after extra time, prevailing 5-3 on aggregate. Veteran Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo was the hero and villain for his country, seeing a sixth-minute penalty saved by Denmark keeper Kasper Schmeichel before netting later in the match. Portugal recovered from Ronaldo’s early aberration and took the lead at the Estadio Jose Alvalade on 38 minutes when Denmark defender Joachim Anderson diverted a Bruno Fernandes corner kick beyond Schmeichel. But Denmark responded 11 minutes into the second half when Rasmus Kristiansen netted a header at the right end and put the visitors back in control of the tie. Former Manchester United teammates Ronaldo and Christian Eriksen traded goals in a frantic last 20 minutes and just as it looked like Denmark would hold out for a draw, Francisco Trincao forced extra time with four minutes remaining.
Buoyed by that strike, Trincao netted in the first minute of extra time and a further strike from Goncalo Ramos sealed the deal for Roberto Martinez’s men. Scotland will now travel to Copenhagen on Thursday, September 5 to kick off their bid to be at the finals in USA, Canada and Mexico next year in a group that also contains Greece and Belarus. Scotland also discovered who they could face in Nations League B during the next cycle of fixtures after a glut of ties were completed on Sunday evening alongside Scotland’s 3-0 defeat by Greece at Hampden, which confirmed their relegation from Nations League A.
The next edition of the tournament takes place after the 2026 World Cup and while Scotland will be one of the top seeds in League B, there are a number of potential tricky opponents lying in wait. Ukraine dropped into League B after the were overpowered by Belgium 3-0 in Brussels, wiping out the Ukrainians’ 3-1 first leg advantage. Belgium scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to prevail, with Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin making his first start for the Red Devils and managing his game well after being booked just five minutes in. Republic of Ireland defeated Bulgaria 2-1 in Dublin (4-2 on aggregate) to stay in Group B, with Celtic striker Adam Idah coming off the bench to seal the win on 85 minutes. Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov, who played the first leg for the Bulgarians, missed the match and could be sidelined for up to a month with a hip issue. Georgia maintained their place in League B with a 6-1 demolition of Armenia in Tblisi. Lyon striker Georges Mikautadze netted twice and their PSG superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia were among the goalscorers as the Georgian emphatically built upon Thursday’s 3-0 triumph away in Yerevan. Hungary suffered relegation from League A after going down 3-0 at home to Turkey. The Turks won 3-1 in Istanbul during the week and were clinical in Budapest, with Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Guler and Abdulkerim Bardakci on the scoresheet. Kosovo will make their first appearance in League B after overcoming Iceland 5-2 on aggregate. The Kosovans took a narrow 2-1 lead to Reykjavik but stunned their hosts with an impressive away display, with striker Vedat Muriqi scoring a hat-trick. Austria will also be in League B after losing 2-0 to Serbia in Belgrade in their relegation play-off, while Slovenia won 1-0 after extra time against Slovakia and will be alongside the Scots.
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