Scotland secured their place in the play-off thanks to finishing second behind Denmark in a World Cup qualifying group that also included Israel, Austria, the Faroe Islands and Moldova.

The game against Ukraine was supposed to take place in March but was postponed due to the Russian invasion. Wales beat Austria in the other semi-final as they bid to qualify for their first World Cup since 1958.

Scotland’s last appearance in the final was in 1998, when the tournament was held in France. Craig Brown’s side scored just one point from three group matches with a 2-1 loss to Brazil in the opener, followed by a 1-1 draw with Norway before A 3-0 loss to Morocco does not end their hopes of reaching the round of 16 for the first time.

Scotland qualified on the best record of the nations who finished second in their group after finishing with 23 points from 10 matches, two points behind group winners Austria and two points ahead of third-placed Sweden.

Scotland suffered only one defeat and had the best defensive record in the group, conceding just three goals in their ten qualifying matches.

Also remembered is the campaign for the infamous match that never took place in Tallinn when Estonia failed to show up for a rearranged group game due to a dispute over kick-off time. ‘mail. The Scottish players took to the pitch for the national anthems and kicked off before the referee immediately whistled amid wacky scenes.

The other teams in the group were Latvia and Belarus.

Scotland qualified for the World Cup eight times, including five consecutive matches between 1974 and 1990, but never made it past the group stages. They came close on three occasions but missed on goal difference against Brazil in 1974, the Netherlands in 1978 and the Soviet Union in 1982.

The eight World Cups that Scotland contested were: Switzerland 1954, Sweden 1958, West Germany 1974, Argentina 1978, Spain 1982, Mexico 1986, Italy 1990 and France 1998.