Scotland finally ended a 28 year wait to qualify for the World Cup, but how will the Tartan Army fare in the Americas?
Having endured some gut-wrenching qualification campaigns in recent years, Scotland ended decades of hurt against Denmark in November with a dramatic 4-2 win that earned them top spot in the UEFA qualifying group C and secured their route to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
Much like in France 28 years ago, they will face the most successful team in World Cup history as they take on Brazil. However, unlike in 1998, when that fixture opened the tournament, the Tartan Army will take on the South Americans last in their group after taking on Haiti and Morocco in Massachussetts.
With the strongest Scotland squad in a generation, boss Steve Clarke will be hoping his team can learn some key lessons from their difficult Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 campaigns as they finally return to the biggest stage in international football this summer.
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Scotland odds to win the World Cup
At odds of around 250/1, it’s clear that the bookmakers don’t see Scotland as a genuine contender for the trophy this summer – although they’re hardly rank outsiders in comparison to the likes of Curacao and their Group C opponents Haiti.
It’s interesting to see the Tartan Army available at a shorter price than a handful of teams with more recent World Cup pedigree such as South Korea and Australia and the bookmakers clearly feel that their lack of recent qualification is due to being in the more difficult UEFA qualifying groups.
There are some talented players in this Scotland squad, not least the talismanic Scott McTominay of Napoli and the experienced Andy Robertson at left-back but when compared to most teams in the tournament it’s clear that they lack the kind of balance and attacking firepower required to truly compete to lift the trophy.
Odds of 250/1 give Steve Clarke’s men an implied probability of 0.4% of winning the World Cup this summer.
Scotland odds to win Group C
Scotland have a chance of progressing from Group C and given that the odds are in their favour to beat Haiti comfortably, they may even be able to go through as one of the best-placed third teams even if they are unable to beat either Brazil or Morocco.
Unsurprisingly with their history and the quality of their squad, Brazil are the huge odds-on favourites to top Group C, but it’s worth noting that four years ago in Qatar they were knocked out at an earlier stage than Morocco, who reached the semi-finals.
Topping the group would be an incredible achievement for Steve Clarke and his side, hence the odds of 12/1 available from bet365.
| Team | Odds from Bet365 | Odds from BOYLE Sports | Odds from Sky Bet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 1/6 | 1/4 | 2/7 |
| Morocco | 6/1 | 10/3 | 4/1 |
| Scotland | 12/1 | 10/1 | 6/1 |
| Haiti | 100/1 | 50/1 | 150/1 |
Scotland stage of elimination odds
Bet365 have the Round of 32 as the odds-on most likely stage at which Scotland will exit the World Cup this summer. That price reflects the likelihood of the Tartan Army getting out of the group despite finishing in third place as they will then take on a group winner, which would undoubtedly prove a difficult task in the first knock-out stage.
A group stage exit is available at 5/2, and from there on in the odds stretch with each knock-out round from Round of 16 up to the final. It would likely take a handful of shock results for the British side to go beyond the Round of 16 however.
| Stage of Elimination | Odds from Bet365 |
|---|---|
| Round of 32 | 4/5 |
| Group Stage | 5/2 |
| Round of 16 | 7/2 |
| Quarter-final | 16/1 |
| Semi-final | 33/1 |
| Runner-up | 100/1 |
| Winner | 250/1 |
Scotland World Cup Top Goalscorer Odds
Scott McTominay, Ryan Christie and Che Adams managed two goals each in qualifying for Scotland, while the experienced midfielder John McGinn has racked up the most international goals of anyone in their squad with 20 from his 83 caps at the time of writing.
The likelihood of Scotland staying in the tournament for long enough for any of these players to truly compete for the Golden Boot seems fairly low, while none of them are particularly prolific goalscorers when compared to some of the names at the tournament. Scott McTominay has been a scorer of big goals for both his nation and his club Napoli in the last few years and as such is unsurprisingly the shortest price of all the Scotland players.
You can find full World Cup Top Goalscorer odds here
| Player | Odds from Bet365 | Odds from 10Bet |
|---|---|---|
| Scott McTominay | 150/1 | 150/1 |
| Che Adams | 250/1 | 250/1 |
| Lyndon Dykes | 350/1 | 350/1 |
| Ryan Christie | 350/1 | 350/1 |
| John McGinn | 500/1 | 500/1 |
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