Opta reveals brutal long odds for Scotland’s World Cup progress

Scotland’s hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout stage have dwindled to just a brutal 0.07 per cent, according to data provider Opta.

The team’s prospects of securing one of the eight best third-place spots plummeted to almost one in 2,000 after damaging results for Senegal and Iran.

Of the nine completed groups, Scotland sit only above Uruguay among third-placed teams, following the South Americans’ defeat by Spain. This result leaves Steve Clarke’s men in the United States for at least another 24 hours.

South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Ecuador, and Paraguay had already finished ahead of the Scots in the third-place table before the latest round of matches.

Scotland needed Iraq to hold Senegal or secure a low-scoring win but an early red card put them up against it and the Africans won 5-0 to claim their first points and boost their goal difference.

A 3-0 defeat by Brazil had left Scotland with three points and a goal difference of minus three.

A Spain victory was a rare bit of good news for the Tartan Army but they needed Egypt to beat Iran and a 1-1 draw put the latter above Scotland on goal difference.

Now Scotland need three results to go their way and chances are extremely slim.

It will all be over for Scotland on Saturday night unless Ghana beat Croatia by at least three goals.

If that result somehow comes up then a draw between DR Congo and Uzbekistan would suit Scotland in Group K, or an Uzbekistan win by no more than three goals.

If it comes down to the final group, Scotland would need Austria to beat Algeria by two goals, or Algeria to win by four goals.

How can Scotland qualify for the knockout rounds?

Scotland’s progress to the next stage of the tournament – which would put them in the knockout rounds for the very first time – is out of their hands.

On the final day of the group-stage, Scotland need two results involving the teams currently above them in the third-place table to go their way: ie, Croatia losing heavily to Ghana and Algeria shipping several goals in a defeat to Austria so both of those teams drop below Scotland in the table on goal difference. Then, Scotland need DR Congo failing to win against Uzbekistan.