World Cup 2026: What are Scotland’s chances of finishing as top third?

If Scotland lose and finish with three points, there are a number of outcomes to look forward to – they will want as many teams as possible to finish with less than three points.

in Group A, A win for Mexico against the Czech Republic and South Korea against South Africa would put them in third place with one point.

The next best scenario is a big South African win with South Korea in third place with three points and a poor goal difference.

The win for South Africa and the Czech Republic brings bad news for Scotland, who finished third with four points.

One of the few games before Scotland face Brazil has an impact on where Scotland could finish. Group B.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Qatar meet three hours before Scotland and both teams will have two points if they draw.

Scotland will need group winners USA to at least get a point against Turkey, to knock them out of the competition.

we go to Group E.

Ecuador and Curacao are tied on one point and will play against Germany and Ivory Coast. Failure to win means no third-place finisher can better Scotland’s three points.

in Group F, Scotland beat second-placed Japan convincingly against third-placed Sweden. A point for Sweden would put them at least four points behind the third-placed team.

The key holder inside Group G As far as Scotland, they are Egypt and Iran. A win for Egypt would ensure a third-placed team would be three points short.

It is the same situation in Group H Scotland fans are rooting for Spain to beat Uruguay, meaning the third-placed team can only finish with two points, while the third-placed team will have just one point when Group One ends between Senegal and Iraq.

in Group J, Austria and Algeria are in third and third place respectively and will be playing their final group game, so what Scotland will want to avoid is a draw. They also want Argentina to avoid defeat against Jordan, who have zero points.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uzbekistan will compete for third place. Team K.

A win over Uzbekistan would give them three points, but on a -7 goal difference they would have to lose badly against DRC and the Scots to move above them in the table.

in Group L, Croatia with Ghana a point or more could be bad news for Scotland as they will again leave third place with four points.

A big win for Ghana and Panama not beating England would be Scotland’s ideal situation from a mathematical point of view.