Scotland’s heavy loss to Brazil has put a serious dent in their hopes of reaching the World Cup round of 32.
The 3-0 defeat meant Steve Clarke’s side finished the group stage with three points and a goal differential of -3.
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Scotland’s three points were good enough to lock up third place in Group C.
As a result, it means Scotland are officially in the running to progress to the World Cup knockout stage as one of the eight best third-placed teams.
However, given that their group was the second to complete their three matches, it means they must now wait for the other ten groups to wrap up.
The lengthy delay is something Scotland boss Clarke was in no mood to discuss following the Brazil defeat, with him being slammed for walking out of an interview post-match.
Here, eSPORTY.com breaks down all the ways in which Scotland can qualify for the round of 32 or how results elsewhere could see them sent packing from the group stage for a ninth time.
Before we go into the nitty-gritty, let us give you the short version.
Scotland need at least four teams who finish third to end the group stages with a worse record than them.
That means they need to have either less than three points, or three points but with a goal differential of at least minus-four.
If a nation has the same points and same goal differential, it then goes down to goals scored.
Unfortunately for the Scots, John McGinn’s goal in the 1-0 win over Haiti was the only one they scored in the entire tournament, leaving them extremely vulnerable if it comes down to this tiebreaker.
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World Cup current third-place table
| Nation | Games played | Goals for | Goals against | Goal difference | Points |
| Sweden | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 2 | 2 | -0 | 4 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
| Paraguay | 3 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| Croatia | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 3 |
| South Korea | 3 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Algeria | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| Scotland | 3 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
| Cape Verde | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Belgium | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| DR Congo | 2 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Senegal | 2 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 0 |
Group A
Overnight, Scotland’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages took another hammer blow with a horror result in Group A.
South Africa pulled off a shock 1-0 victory over South Korea, seeing them leapfrog their opponents into second place.
That meant that South Korea came third in the group instead, finishing on three points, the same as Scotland.
But South Korea finished above Scotland in the third-place rankings due to a goal difference of -1 to -3, which handed the Tartan Army another major hit to their chances of progressing.
Group B
Bosnia and Herzegovina finished third in Group B with four points, meaning Scotland cannot catch them.
Group D
Australia’s 0-0 draw with Paraguay meant both teams ended the group stage with four points each.
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The Aussies ultimately finished second and Paraguay in third, meaning that their four points puts them above Scotland in the third-place rankings.
If Australia beat Paraguay by a two-goal or more margin, then Scotland overtake Paraguay in the third-placed rankings.
If Paraguay beat Australia by a four-goal or more margin then Scotland overtake Australia in the third-placed rankings.
Group E
Ecuador have finished above Scotland in the third-placed rankings following their 2-1 win over Germany.
The come-from-behind victory ensured Ecuador (4 points, 0 GD) finished third in Group E behind group winners Germany and second-placed Ivory Coast.
Group F
Sweden have finished above Scotland in the third-placed rankings thanks as their 1-1 draw with Japan ensured they ended the group stage with 4 points.
Group G
Belgium (2 points, 0 GD) are currently below Scotland in the third-placed rankings but would go above with at least a draw against New Zealand.
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If Belgium beat New Zealand, they could then drop Iran (2 points, 0 GD) into third, thus putting Scotland above Iran in the third-placed rankings.
In the event Belgium beat New Zealand, Iran would only need a draw against Egypt to finish above Scotland in the third-placed rankings.
If New Zealand (1 point, -2 GD) beat Belgium, they would go into third in the group and be above Scotland in the third-placed rankings.
But if the All Whites beat Belgium and Iran lose to Egypt, that would mean Scotland will finish above Iran in the third-placed rankings.
Group H
Cape Verde (2 points, 0 GD) are currently below Scotland in the third-placed rankings but would go above them with at least a draw to Saudi Arabia.
However, in the event of Cape Verde winning or drawing against Saudi Arabia, Uruguay (2 points, 0 GD) would need to at least draw to Spain in order to finish in the top three. Failure to do so in this scenario would see Uruguay come third in the group and below Scotland in the third-placed rankings on two points.
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Uruguay would also finish third in the group on two points and below Scotland in the rankings in the event of failing to draw or beat Spain and Saudi Arabia beating Cape Verde.
If Uruguay beat Spain then Scotland will finish below the third-placed finishing team in Group H regardless of the result between Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia.
Group I
Senegal (0 points, -3 GD) must beat Iraq to overtake Scotland in the third-place rankings.
Iraq can also finish third in their group but would need to beat Senegal by four or more goals in order to overtake Scotland in the third-place rankings.
Group J
Austria (3 points, 0 GD) and Algeria (3 points, -2 GD) can both finish third, and they will face off against each other on the final matchday.
If they draw, Algeria will finish third with four points, pushing them above Scotland.
Scotland need Austria to beat Algeria by at least two goals to overtake them in the third place standings.
Scotland also would finish ahead of Austria if Algeria beat them by three goals or more.
Group K
DR Congo (1 point, -1 GD) must beat Uzbekistan to finish above Scotland in the third-placed rankings.
Uzbekistan can also finish third in the group but would need to beat DR Congo by four goals or more in order to overtake Scotland in the third-place rankings.
Group L
Croatia (3 points, -1 GD) must lose by three or more goals to Ghana for Scotland to finish above in the third-placed rankings.
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