25 Jun,2026
2 hours ago
This video cannot be played Scotland hopes on the brink following defeat against Brazil. Reaching the last 32 of the World Cup is out of Scotland's hands after they suffered a 3-0 defeat by Brazil in their final group-stage game. Scotland fans will now be clinging on to hopes of progressing as one of the eight best third-placed sides. It means they may need to wait until Sunday to find out whether they will reach the knockouts for the first time.
With a potentially agonising few days on the way, BBC Sport guides you through what to look out for and how Scotland could still make it. Vinicius Jr stops fun and leaves Scots down... but are they out? Scotland's World Cup hopes on brink after 3-0 defeat by Brazil. What each team needs to make World Cup knockouts.
By this point, you have probably heard a lot about how finishing third could still get you through. Of the 12 teams who finish third in their group, eight will progress. If teams in the third-place standings finish level on points, the rankings are then decided by goal difference. That means Scotland will need to hope that at least four do not manage to reach three points, or they do so with a worse goal difference than them.
As it stands, there are five third-placed teams ranked below Scotland, and five who have the same number of points. Four of those five still have a game to play. Losing 3-0 means Steve Clarke's men's goal difference took a blow, with them now sitting on -3. According to Opta, teams with three points and a -3 goal difference only had a 42% chance of making the last 32, while it's 63% for -2 and 84% for -1. Scotland's chances fell further with South Africa's surprise win over South Korea, who dropped into third on three points with better goal difference.
There are nine groups left to play, and Scotland need four teams to be worse than them. It means they need a minimum of four of the following scenarios to play out:
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