Scotland World Cup play-off: When is draw, how to watch, record against possible opponents

Scotland will find out the route they have to navigate to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar later today.

Scotland will find out their World Cup play-off opponents this afternoon. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

Steve Clarke’s men enter the Uefa play-off having finished second behind Denmark in qualifying.

With six wins in a row, Scotland enter as seeds for one of three spots to join the ten group stage winners at the World Cup next year.

How does the play-off work?

The 12 teams who have reached the play-off – ten group runners up plus two Nations League qualifiers – will effectively be split into three groups of four.

Within that Scotland will be drawn against a semi-final opponent and will face the winner of the other semi-final in their section if they progress.

Clarke’s men will be seeded for the semi-final and will play it at Hampden Park. As part of the draw, it will be decided which of the two winning semi-finalists will host the final.

Possible opponents:

Turkey

Poland

North Macedonia

Ukraine

Austria

Czech Republic

When is the draw?

Scotland will find out their opponents at 4pm this afternoon.

How you can watch

The draw will be streamed live on Fifa.com.

Recent record against the unseeded teams:

Turkey – Scotland have faced the Turks just once in the country’s history. It came back in 1960 when the Scots travelled to the 19 Mayis Stadion in Ankara. Despite goals from Eric Caldow and Alex Young, Scotland lost 4-2.

Poland – The nations met in qualification for Euro 2016 with both games finishing 2-2. Both matches saw Poland take the lead before scoring a late equaliser. The game at Hampden Park saw Robert Lewandowski score a 94th minute equaliser.

North Macedonia – It will be the first meeting of the sides since Macedonia added the ‘North’ prefix. Scotland faced Macedonia four times between 2008 and 2013 in qualification for the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Scotland won twice but also lost in Skopje and drew at Hampden Park.

Ukraine – A meeting with Ukraine at Hampden Park will bring back fond memories of qualification for Euro 2008. The 3-1 win at Hampden park with Kenny Miller, Lee McCulloch and James McFadden all scoring is one of the best performances the country has delivered in Mount Floida prior to the recent win over Denmark.

Austria – Scotland have already proven they are better than the Austrians. The teams drew 2-2 at the start of the qualifying campaign for World Cup 2022 before Clarke's side put in an assured performance in Vienna to win 1-0 in what was a crucial result on the way to finishing second in the group.

Czech Republic – The Czechs at Hampden Park have provided some difficult moments over the years. While there was the 1-0 Nations League win last year, there was also the 2-0 loss in the opening game of Euro 2020 and, prior to that, the 2-2 draw in qualification for Euro 2012 when Michal Kadlec netted a controversial late penalty to all but end Scotland's hopes of reaching the tournament.

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