THE GOOD, THE BAD & THE UGLY

SCOTLAND’S PLAY-OFF PEDIGREE LAID BARE

NEXT Wednesday at Hampden, Steve Clarke’s side hope to find a way past Ukraine in the delayed World Cup play-off semi-final, with a crack at Wales in Cardiff the following Sunday the prize awaiting the winner. This will be the sixth time in the history of the Scottish national team that qualification for a major tournament has come down to this stage, with our participation in two World Cups and three European Championships previously being decided in this manner. Here, Sportsmail’s JOHN McGARRY takes a look at the roads which have led to play-offs in the past — and how it all unfolded in the final reckoning.

1961 — SCOTLAND 2 CZECHOSLOVAKIA 4 (agg)

Both nations were placed in Group Eight for World Cup qualification along with the Republic of Ireland. The Irish lost all four of their matches, with Scotland and the Czechs each winning their home games against each other. Although the Czechs had a vastly superior goal difference and a better head-to-head record, these weren’t taken into consideration, with the issue to be settled by a one-game play-off in Brussels on November 29. Ian St John twice gave Scotland the lead but Czechoslovakia hit back through Jiri Hledik and Adolf Scherer. The latter’s was hugely controversial, hitting the underside of the bar and apparently not crossing the line. The decision of local referee Gerard Versyp to award the goal angered the Scots, with midfielders Paddy Crerand and Jim Baxter proceeding to fight over a sponge before the extra 30 minutes started. John White hit the bar just after the restart but Tomas Pospichal and Andrej Kvasnak struck in quick succession to put the game away from Scotland before half-time in extra-time had even been reached. The pain of watching the finals in Chile the following summer was compounded by the sight of seeing Czechoslovakia go all the way to the final before they were beaten 3-1 by Brazil.

1985 — SCOTLAND 2 AUSTRALIA 0 (agg)

The regular campaign to reach the World Cup in Mexico had encountered both unbridled joy and tragedy. A home victory over Iceland was followed by a win for the ages against Spain at Hampden. A home defeat to Wales and a reverse in Seville were major setbacks, with a slender win in Reykjavik needed to keep Scotland on course. Trailing to Mark Hughes’ goal at Ninian Park, the Tartan Army were indebted to Davie Cooper for converting a late penalty to seal a place in the play-offs. But that seemed entirely irrelevant as news of Jock Stein’s tragic death from a heart attack after the match filtered through. Two months later, with Alex Ferguson at the helm, Scotland lifted themselves to see off Australia at Hampden thanks to second-half goals from Cooper and Frank McAvennie. The return leg in Melbourne two weeks later saw the nation take an unofficial morning off. A tense goalless draw was enough to get the job done.

1999 — SCOTLAND 1 ENGLAND 2 (agg)

Hoping to make it directly to Euro 2000, Craig Brown’s side had their path blocked by an excellent Czech Republic side which won all of its 10 qualifiers. Scotland were still comfortable as runners-up, though, and their opponent when the draw was made for the play-offs caused gasps in the auditorium. Second behind Sweden and having only edged out Poland in a head-to-head in their group, there was a vulnerability about Kevin Keegan’s England. The first leg at Hampden proved to be a huge anti-climax, Paul Scholes twice escaping his marker to score and build a 2-0 advantage going to Wembley. Understandably, Scotland were written off but it was clear from the off under the Twin Towers that England didn’t know whether to stick or twist. Six minutes from the break, Neil McCann spun away from Sol Campbell and crossed perfectly for Don Hutchison who headed home. Scotland were immense in the second half but David Seaman’s magnificent save prevented Christian Dailly taking the game to extra-time.

2003 — SCOTLAND 1 NETHERLANDS 6 (agg)

The campaign to reach Euro 2004 in Portugal was to be one which started and ended in ignominy. Hired to great fanfare by the SFA, Berti Vogts’ first competitive game was a 2-2 draw in the Faroe Islands which had seen his side come from two goals down. They recovered sufficiently to book their place in the play-offs, where they would face a star-studded Netherlands. The much-ridiculed Vogts threatened to have the last laugh when James McFadden combined well with Darren Fletcher to secure a famous 1-0 first-leg Hampden triumph. However, it was to prove a sharp reminder about how the hope can kill you. Scotland simply froze in the Amsterdam ArenA, Wesley Sneijder firing the opener past Rab Douglas then setting up Andre Ooijer and Ruud van Nistelrooy before the break. The second half was best watched from behind the sofa from a Scottish perspective. Van Nistelrooy completed his hat-trick either side of a Frank de Boer goal. It was to be Scotland’s worst result in 42 years.

2020 — SERBIA 1 SCOTLAND 1 (Scotland win 5-4 on penalties)

Having waited since 1998 to return to a major tournament, Scotland were forced to wait a little longer. The regular campaign for Euro 2020 began with a dreadful 3-0 loss in Kazakhstan under Alex McLeish, who then lost his job following a slender win in San Marino. Under new boss Steve Clarke, Scotland found their way and scrambled to a third-place finish but the prospect of qualification arrived via the inaugural Nations League play-offs. Originally scheduled for March 2020, Covid pushed the semi-final with Israel back to October. A gruelling 120-goalless minutes came and went before Scotland were perfect from 12 yards in a penalty shoot-out to set up a trip to Serbia. Ryan Christie’s well-taken opener raised hopes only for Luka Jovic to head home in the 90th minute to take it to extra-time. With no further goals, it was penalties again. Once more, Scotland were flawless — although the delay between David Marshall’s outstretched arm blocking Aleksandar Mitrovic’s decisive fifth kick and the referee signalling the contest was over seemed to last an age. In Serbia and Scotland, tears flowed and glasses were raised.