Denmark v Scotland
FIFA World Cup Qualifying 
Friday, 5 September 2025 (7.45pm kick-off, UK time)
Parken, Copenhagen

Potentially only six matches stand between Scotland and a return to the FIFA World Cup, after a painful 27 year absence from the world’s greatest tournament.

And the quest begins on Friday night in Copenhagen, as Steve Clarke’s side kick off the qualifying campaign with an away double header against Denmark and Belarus.

With Greece completing the line up in the group, all sides will feel they have a chance of picking up points in what looks a fiercely competitive section.

Clarke – who looks set to become Scotland’s longest serving boss, in terms of matches, during this campaign – has already led the nation to back to back European Championships, but he knows that the holy grail of a World Cup return would constitute the biggest achievement of his career.

Pre-match thoughts

Speaking at the press conference in Parken Stadium on Thursday evening, Scotland Head Coach Steve Clarke said: "I think we've shown in our previous campaigns that we can come out of the group stages in qualifying, be that through a Play-off or direct as we did last time to get to Germany.

"We've shown that we can handle the pressure of the group stages and that's what we aim to do again.

"My job is to give the boys the best possible chance to get there so I'll just concentrate on going game to game and hopefully when we get to the end of the group stages we've got enough points to go to the World Cup.

"It's a tough start with two difficult away games. Obviously coming here, we were here in the last World Cup qualifying. We know it's a tough place to come. They always play well, they're very aggressive and they get after you so we know we have to defend well but we know we have to play well when we have the ball.

"We have to create chances and hopefully we can have a positive result to start the campaign.

"I think it could be a very competitive group but that's trying to look into the future. All we can do is concentrate on making sure we're ready for every game, get the approach right, give it everything we've got and hopefully get the points tally that gets us to the World Cup."

Scotland captain Andy Robertson also spoke to the media in Copenhagen, adding: "There's always excitement when you start a new campaign and this one's no different. We've done well in the European Championship qualifying campaigns and the last World Cup one was a really good one in terms of the group stages. It was the play-offs that then became a disappointment.

"When we look back on our last three qualifying campaigns, they've been good ones so it's about taking that into this one. It's quite a short campaign and it's mad to think it will be over in November. It's only six games so getting off to a good start is crucial and hopefully we can do that, which will stand us in good stead for the next two international breaks. 

"There's not much margin for error, it's going to be over quick so it's up to us to get the results that we need.

"I'm 31 now so I'm not getting any younger so you're wondering where your career will go. Hopefully it's not my last but I'm looking at this World Cup campaign thinking it could be. I've been through World Cup qualifying campaigns before and I've been close but not quite managed it.

"I've achieved a lot in my career that I'm proud of but it's one thing that's clearly missing. I'm from an era that I remember the last World Cup briefly, I was only four, and that was the last time we were there.

"It's something that we want to provide for the Tartan Army and we want it for ourselves. We want to be involved in it because it's the pinnacle of your career and we've got another chance now and if we can do it there won't be someone more excited for a World Cup than me."

Team News 

There have been a couple of enforced changes since the squad was initially announced. Right back Anthony Ralston did not join up with the squad, while Kieran Tierney had a knock that did not improve, causing his withdrawal.

In their place, Clarke has drafted in Sassuolo left-back Josh Doig, who made his Scotland debut against Liechtenstein in June. 

The squad is also boosted by the returns of Aaron Hickey after a two year injury absence, as well as Ben Gannon-Doak and Lyndon Dykes who have both not played for Scotland in 2025. 

Previous Meetings

Scotland have recent history with Denmark, having also been drawn against them in qualifying for the last World Cup.

Home advantage prevailed on that occasion, with the Danes triumphing 2-0 in Parken after first half goals from Daniel Wass and Joakim Maehle, before Scotland won by the same scoreline in Glasgow, with John Souttar and Che Adams on target in a raucous night at Hampden Park. 

Prior to that, Scotland enjoyed friendly victories over Denmark had Hampden Park in both 2011 and 2016, and the Scots actually boast a positive record over their Danish opponents, with 11 victories and 7 defeats in the 18 matches.

Tickets 

Although tickets for the away match against Denmark are sold out, and the Belarus game is to be played behind closed doors, there are tickets remaining for the home matches at Hampden Park.

Scotland face Greece at Hampden on Thursday, 9 October before facing Belarus three days later on Sunday, 12 October. 

The short campaign then concludes with a match away to Greece on Saturday, 15 November and a home game against Denmark on Tuesday, 18 November. 

How to Watch 

All of Scotland's qualifiers during the campaign will be live, free-to-air, on BBC One Scotland and the BBC IPlayer. 

Scotland Squad

Goalkeepers

Zander Clark Heart of Midlothian
Angus Gunn Nottingham Forest 
Liam Kelly Rangers

Defenders

Josh Doig Sassulo Calcio
Grant Hanley Hibernian 
Jack Hendry Al-Ettifaq
Aaron Hickey Brentford
Dom Hyam Blackburn Rovers
Max Johnston* SK Sturm Graz
Scott McKenna GNK Dinamo Zagreb 
Andy Robertson Liverpool
John Souttar Rangers

Midfielders

Ryan Christie AFC Bournemouth
Lewis Ferguson Bologna 
Ben Gannon Doak AFC Bournemouth 
Billy Gilmour* SSC Napoli
John McGinn Aston Villa
Kenny McLean Norwich City 
Scott McTominay SSC Napoli 
Lennon Miller Udinese

Forwards

Che Adams Torino
Kieron Bowie Hibernian 
Lyndon Dykes Birmingham City
George Hirst Ipswich Town

*Denotes Scottish FA JD Performance School graduate

FIFA World Cup Qualifying Explained

With a different, shortened format to the recent World Cup qualifying campaigns, everything you need to know about how qualification works, our opponents, and the road to next year's tournament is listed here.