After qualifying for the World Cup in dramatic fashion on a famous night at Hampden Park, Scotland’s attention turns to the draw on Friday, 5 December.
Steve Clarke’s side defeated Denmark 4-2 to top their group and book their place in next summer’s tournament but Scotland find themselves in Pot 3 which means they potentially face a Group of Death.
Scotland could repeat the trick from their last World Cup in 1998
It is a long shot with Scotland able to be drawn into the same group as any of the sides from Pot 1, which includes fellow co-hosts USA and Canada as well as the nine top seeded countries, and Mexico able to draw every Pot 3 side bar Panama.
This is due to the ruling that ensures no more than one team from any federation – CONCACAF in Mexico and Panama’s case – will go into the same group. However, a similar rule increases the odds of a Scotland opening night party at Estadio Azteca, which is hosting the opening game for a record third time.
With 16 sides making up a third of the expanded 48-team tournament, Europe are the exception. Some countries will be in the same group as tends to be the case but no more than two. Seven are in Pot 1 and three in Pot 2, meaning the path could be clearer for Scotland to draw Mexico.
It would not be the first time Scotland have played in the opening game of a World Cup or a recent tournament. In fact, their last World Cup outing in 1998 saw them lose to holders Brazil 2-1 at the Stade de France in Paris, while at EURO 2024, they were routed 5-1 by hosts Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
After ending their 28-year wait for qualification, Scotland will now look to end an even longer win drought at the World Cup. Not since 1990 when they defeated Sweden 2-1 have the Tartan Army tasted success, while their last victory at any international tournament came at EURO ‘96 courtesy of an Ally McCoist winner against Switzerland.
While the possibility of playing in the opening game might be thrilling in theory, the reality is ticket prices for the clash in Mexico City are even more extortionate than many of the other games for an already-controversially priced tournament.
The pots for the draw on 5 December are as follows, with Ireland, Northern Ireland and Wales set to be in Pot 4 if they qualify via the play-offs.
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, IR Iran, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Austria, Australia
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte d’Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, European Play-Off A, B, C and D, FIFA Play-Off Tournament 1 and 2
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