FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Qualifiers
Denmark v Scotland
Wednesday, 1 September 2021, kick-off 7.45pm (UK time)
Telia Parken, Copenhagen

Scotland travel to face group leaders Denmark on Wednesday evening as the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign continues.

Scotland sealed their first victory on the road to Qatar with a 4-0 win over the Faroe Islands back in March. Steve Clarke’s side remain unbeaten in this qualification campaign and will be looking to regain their winning form heading into Wednesday night.



Denmark will be full of confidence after hitting the heights of the UEFA EURO 2020 Semi-Final this summer. Kasper Hjulmand’s side have taken maximum points from their opening three qualifying matches and are yet to concede a goal in this campaign.

Team News

Steve Clarke, who signed a new 3-year contract extension last week, named Lewis Ferguson, Zander Clark and Liam Kelly in the squad for the first time for the upcoming triple header.

Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney have both recovered from injury and are named in a defensive pack that remains unchanged from our EURO 2020 campaign.

Norwich City playmaker Kenny McLean has also recovered from injury and is recalled to the side along with teammate Billy Gilmour – who will be keen on making up for lost time after missing out on Scotland’s final EURO 2020 match due to COVID. Scott McTominay misses out with an injury whilst in-form David Turnbull earns another call-up.

Due to injury James Forrest and Greg Taylor have missed out along with Stuart Armstrong, meanwhile Nathan Patterson, John McGinn, Kevin Nisbet and Stephen O'Donnell are ruled out due to COVID related issues.

Previous Meetings

The two sides last went head-to-head in 2016 during an international friendly, where Matt Ritchie’s early strike secured a 1-0 victory for the Scots. Interestingly, there have been no draws in the 16 previous meetings between the sides – with Scotland winning 10 and losing 6.

Scotland last visited Denmark in 2004, losing out 1-0.

Pre-Match Thoughts

Steve Clarke spoke to the media on Monday about the last minute call offs and how he remained confident in the group’s ability to gain a positive result in Copenhagen.

He said: "Probably two years into my international career it has probably been the most disruptive camp in terms of call-offs, which is disappointing.

"But I think I have enough in the current group to go to Denmark and hopefully get the result we all want.

"Medical advice and information tells me that both John and Nathan should join us after the Denmark game, which is good, so I don't have to delve too deep for replacements."

Newly-appointed assistant coach Austin McPhee will also miss the triple-header after testing positive for Covid 19, with Hearts coach and former Scotland forward Steven Naismith drafted in to help.



He said: "It is a completely different blow for me. I was hoping I would have a new coaching team in place but at the very last minute I asked Steven Naismith, who I know as a player, to step up and become an extra pair of eyes on the training pitch."

Craig Gordon spoke about his excitement for the match in Denmark and how he wants to keep playing for as long as possible.

He said: "I don't want to put a time limit on it and think, 'after this I will stop'. I just want to keep going.

"As long as I feel this good and ready to play then there is no reason to stop. If I keep my body in good shape then hopefully there is still a good few more years."

"Buffon is 43 and still playing for Parma so let's see how far I can go.

"Obviously the older you get, things change and more experience comes into play rather than maybe the athleticism from before.

"But in saying that, I still feel really good, I am moving around the goal well and as long as I can do that I will still be playing and hopefully a few more caps to come."

Where can I watch?

The match, kicking-off at 7.45pm, will be live on Sky Sports Main Event. The game will be available on Sky Go for subscribers and Now TV passes are also available to watch the game.

By Luke Bain