When is Scotland's World Cup play-off draw? Who will Scotland play? Is the draw on TV?

Scotland will find out who stand between them and a place at Qatar 2022 when the draw for the World Cup play-offs is made at the Fifa headquarters in Zurich on Friday.
Scotland players celebrate the 2-0 win over Denmark at Hampden on November 15. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)Scotland players celebrate the 2-0 win over Denmark at Hampden on November 15. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)
Scotland players celebrate the 2-0 win over Denmark at Hampden on November 15. (Photo by Ross MacDonald / SNS Group)

Steve Clarke's side are one of 12 nations competing for the remaining three European qualification spots up for grabs after securing a second-place finish in Group F behind winners Denmark.

The 23 points accrued equalled Scotland' s best-ever tally during the qualification phase for a major tournament and also secured seeded status for the play-off draw as one of the best-placed group runners-up, meaning a guaranteed home play-off semi-final at Hampden Park against one of the unseeded nations.

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After concluding the qualification campaign with an uplifting 2-0 win over Denmark at a sold-out national stadium last week, there is huge excitement building ahead of the draw. Here's all you need to know:

When is the draw?

It will be held in Zurich, Switzerland on Friday, November 26 at 4pm.

How to watch

As things stand, the draw will not be shown on TV. However, it is available to live stream via Fifa's official website.

Who's involved in the draw?

The 12 nations are split into two pots. The seeded teams in Pot 1 include Italy, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sweden and Wales, Pot 2 features unseeded sides Austria, Czech Republic, North Macedonia, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine.

Scotland's possible semi-final opponents

Austria need no introduction having finished third in qualifying behind Scotland. A 2-2 draw at Hampden was followed by a 1-0 win in Vienna which proved a pivotal turning point for Clarke's men.

The Czechs are no strangers either having beaten Scotland in the Euro 2020 opener this summer, while Scotland claimed home and away victories in the Nations League the previous year.

Scotland have a mixed record against North Macedonia with two wins, one defeat and one draw from four previous meetings, the last of which came in September 2013 when a late Shaun Maloney free-kick earned a 2-1 victory.

Poland have a world-class striker in Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and would be one of the tougher draws, as would Ukraine who reached the quater-finals of Euro 2020.

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Turkey would perhaps be the most interesting draw as the nations have never met in a competitive senior international. The only previous meeting between the sides in 1960 ended in a 4-2 friendly win for the Turks in Ankara.

How the draw works

The draw will start by allocating the six Pot 1 teams to a semi-final. The first team drawn will occupy the home position in semi-final 1, the second team drawn in semi-final 2 and so on until the pot is emptied.

The draw will then allocate teams from Pot 2 to semi-final pairings one by one. The first team drawn from Pot 2 will occupy the away position in semi-final 1, the second team drawn in semi-final 2 and so on.

Semi-finals 1 and 2 belong to the Play-off path A, semi-finals 3 and 4 form path B and semi-finals 5 and 6 constitute path C. An additional draw will be held to determine which semi-final winner will play at home in the final.

When do the play-offs take place?

The semi-finals are scheduled for Thursday, March 24, 2022 with the finals taking place on Tuesday, March 29.

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