Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean struck in stoppage time as Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 to clinch top spot in Group C and qualify for their first World Cup since 1998.
Tierney made it 3-2 three minutes into stoppage time, racing onto a rebound and slamming a long-range effort inside the left post to send Hampden Park wild.
On a night of great goals in Glasgow, McLean then punished Denmark again five minutes later, collecting the ball in space and unleashing a powerful low strike from distance that found the same corner.
Here are the talking points from an unforgettable night.
The Greatest Goal Ever Witnessed At Hampden
Moveover Zinedine Zidane. The volley Zidane lashed in for Real Madrid against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League Final is part of Hampden folklore.
Many observers considered it to be the greatest goal ever scored at Scotland’s national stadium. That was until Tuesday night.
When McTominay flung himself up in the air and connected with a bicycle kick from an unfathomable height, he took the mantle from the French maestro Zizou.
It was reminiscent of the goal McTominay scored for Napoli last season on the night they won the Serie A title.
It also carried echoes of a goal Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a Champions League tie for Real Madrid against Juventus in Turin back in 2018.
Was it the greatest Scotland goal of all-time? That’s another debate. But it’s surely only a toss-up between McTominay and Archie Gemmill against Holland in the 1978 World Cup.
Fast Start Fizzles Out
Scotland started the match like a steam train. They were snapping into tackles, winning every 50-50, and pressing Denmark to the point of distraction.
Steve Clarke’s side were all over the Danes, swarming the red jerseys and winning the ball back in really good areas. It was exactly the kind of start needed on a night like this – and exactly what they had failed to do in so many recent games.
But it all just fizzled out. Scotland weren’t helped by the injury to Ben Gannon-Doak just after the 15-minute mark.
The sight of the electric young winger being stretchered off was like a pin to the atmosphere inside Hampden.
Scotland then had no pace in the team and no out-ball to get them up the pitch.
For all they started the match well, it proved to be a false dawn on a night when fingernails were chewed to the bone in Mount Florida.
Robertson Had A Tough Night
This was a night that demanded leadership from Scotland’s senior players. Given the pressure that was on the entire team, big characters had to step up and deliver.
In Andy Robertson, they have a captain who has won Premier League and Champions League titles with Liverpool.
This was his chance to really drive and inspire those around him, but it didn’t happen. He actually started the match fairly well, but the way Robertson fell off it was emblematic of Scotland as a team.
Time and time again, he was given the runaround by Denmark winger Gustav Isaksen.
It was Robertson who fouled Isaksen for the Denmark penalty shortly after half-time, but that was only the half of it.
The Scotland skipper was skinned relentlessly and exposed as a weak link in the backline.
His lack of game-time at Liverpool this season caught up with him in a game of this intensity and magnitude. His delivery from out wide was also really poor, sending a couple of crosses straight out of play.
Clarke’s Tactics So Very Nearly Prove Costly
Clarke will now be lauded as the first ever Scotland manager to lead the nation to three major tournaments. No one will ever take that away from him.
Like him or loathe him, that’s a piece of history he now owns. In the fullness of time, he will be regarded as one of the country’s all-time greats in terms of his ability to dig out results.
But this was a night that so very nearly went badly wrong. After taking the lead so early, Clarke retreated into his shell and his team fell deeper and deeper.
Even by the 20-minute mark, it was like the Alamo. Scotland couldn’t just get out of their own half. They were clinging on for dear life.
When Denmark eventually equalised just after half-time, no one could argue it hadn’t been coming.
Even against 10 men, Scotland never convinced. They lost a cheap goal to allow Denmark to equalise at 2-2.
But like much of this campaign over the past couple of months, it was written in the stars.
Some people don’t believe in fate. But on a night where Scott McTominay scored arguably Scotland’s greatest goal and Kenny McLean scored from fully 40 yards, how else can you explain it? This was meant to be.
Tierney and McLean writes themselves into Scotland history
Kieran Tierney has endured a tough season since returning to Celtic. Fans have questioned his fitness and ability to go the distance over 90 minutes.
But none of that mattered last night when he curled in the goal in stoppage time to put Scotland 3-2 up and back on course for the World Cup Finals in America.
He is now a Scotland legend. So, too, is McLean. With literally the very last kick of the game, the much-maligned midfielder clinched it with a truly stupendous long-range effort. Football? Bloody hell.
