Scotland’s potential route to World Cup 2026 final

Scotland are raring for a first World Cup appearance since 1998 as they head to North America perhaps ready to let their dreams run wild. The Scots earned their spot at the tournament finals in the most dramatic fashion when they scored two stoppage-time stunners to pip Denmark to top spot in their final qualifier. The Tartan Army will now be fantasising about simply watching their nation win a game at a major tournament for the first time in three decades, having experienced only losses and draws at the past two Euros. And while such an outcome might satisfy the travelling fans, Scotland’s participation at the World Cup means they have a theoretical route to the biggest match in the four-year football calendar, should Steve Clarke’s side blow all expectations out of the water. Steve Clarke leads Scotland into their first World Cup since 1998 (PA) Scotland begin their campaign against Haiti in before facing Brazil and Morocco in Group C, two opponents they also met in 1998. Should they top the group they will face the nation that finishes as runner-up in Group F in the round of 32. If they finish as a runner-up, they will take on the winner of that group, which contains the Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia and Sweden. If Scotland are of the eight best third-placed teams come the end of the group stage, they will face one of the winners from Groups A, E or I in the first knockout stage. For ease of projection, let us assume that Scotland finish second in their group and the Netherlands top theirs, as the highest-ranked Group F side, setting up that round of 32 meeting. They would then face the winner of a meeting between the runner-up in Group A and runner-up in Group B. Beyond that, a tough quarter-final may loom against France or Germany should each top their Groups (E and I respectively). Should England win their group in our scenario, the earliest that they could encounter Scotland would be the final. Below is our projection using the current Fifa rankings to form a possible bracket. Scotland’s possible route to World Cup final: Group fixtures 13 June: Scotland vs Haiti (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough) 18 June: Scotland vs Morocco (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough) 24 June: Scotland vs Brazil (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami) Round of 32 29 June: Scotland vs Netherlands (Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe) Round of 16 4 July: Scotland vs South Korea (NRG Stadium, Houston) Quarter-final 9 July: Scotland vs France (Gillette Stadium, Foxborough) Semi-final 14 July: Scotland vs Spain (AT&T Stadium, Dallas) Final 19 July: Scotland vs Argentina (MetLife Stadium, New Jersey)