Will Lady Luck, Danish Doubts And Hampden Noise Favour Scotland?

World Cup qualifying Group C: Scotland v Denmark

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Tuesday, 18 November Kick-off: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Watch connected BBC Scotland, BBC Two & iPlayer, perceive connected BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal & Sounds, unrecorded matter commentary connected nan BBC Sport website & app

The time aft nan nighttime before, erstwhile Scotland strikers Billy Dodds and James McFadden discussed what unfolded connected Saturday and what mightiness beryllium connected Tuesday, erstwhile nan nationalist broadside big Denmark successful a seismic winner-takes-all qualifier astatine Hampden.

In a lucifer they thought they had to triumph aliases tie to clasp hopes of automatic World Cup qualification, Scotland mislaid 3-2 successful Greece.

But Belarus' astonishment 2-2 tie successful Copenhagen intends Steve Clarke's broadside will still decorativeness apical of qualification Group C if they hit nan Danes.

Fate would look to beryllium connected Scotland's broadside fixed immoderate of nan luck they person had successful this campaign. Will nan footballing gods beryllium favourable again?

How could Scotland commencement truthful poorly and decorativeness truthful impressively?

"Was it because we've sewage that mindset wherever a constituent mightiness do, truthful it's cautious?" Dodds wondered. "Maybe nan cautious attack came from what we needed retired of nan game, but past we realised astatine nan end, we're hopeless and we astir did it, but it didn't really matter successful nan end, did it?

"It's each astir power and belief. That's erstwhile we're astatine our best. It's astir having a go."

McFadden thought "lousy defending" and "a nervousness" from their erstwhile caller meetings pinch Greece contributed to Saturday's eventful defeat.

"I thought our property was really poor," he said. "They recovered it acold excessively easy to play successful nan areas they wanted to play and we didn't extremity them.

"The distances were excessively large betwixt defence and midfield and attack, truthful nan property was ne'er going to work, but past nan 2nd half started overmuch better, overmuch much aggressive, we're getting players forward.

"You look astatine Andy Robertson's transverse for Ryan Christie's goal. Earlier successful nan game, he astir apt turns back, because it's not perfect, it's bouncing.

"Earlier, John McGinn wasn't driving forward, Scott McTominay wasn't driving forward. We are astatine our champion erstwhile McGinn's driving forward, erstwhile McTominay's getting into nan box, erstwhile Robertson's getting up nan statement and getting crosses into nan container and, for immoderate reason, nan past 3 games person not been for illustration that."

Clarke said afterwards that "we request to judge successful ourselves more".

"I don't cognize why they don't judge successful themselves, being nan players we each cognize they tin be," McFadden said, recalling nan struggle to hit Belarus astatine Hampden.

"I don't cognize if it's deficiency of belief, I don't cognize if it's confidence, but erstwhile you watch players and they're doing things they don't usually do, not for nan amended of nan team, past you commencement to deliberation is it possibly clip for immoderate of these players to beryllium replaced and past you spot them driving guardant and playing really they tin play.

"Is it because it's a World Cup and there's a existent fearfulness of failure?"

Given nan measurement Scotland came truthful adjacent to a celebrated fightback against Greece, Dodds thinks Clarke will "probably support nan aforesaid formation" but "might tweak a mates of personnel" against Denmark.

"The mobility marks are astir apt nan striker and possibly a centre-half," he suggested. "It mightiness beryllium [Scott] McKenna [for Grant Hanley] to springiness america that gait and get america up nan park."

McFadden would not beryllium amazed if McKenna replaced Hanley, who he thought looked "quite shaky" successful Greece, but believes Clarke will instrumentality pinch Che Adams up front.

Having missed a mates of games pinch his nine done injury, Billy Gilmour stayed pinch Napoli for curen and Scotland await news of whether nan midfielder will beryllium disposable to look Denmark.

"He's not been pinch nan squad and nan camp, truthful they're going to person 1 training session," McFadden said. "I would beryllium amazed if he starts, but I wouldn't beryllium amazed if he changed formation.

"He had a spot of occurrence pinch nan 4-4-2 successful Copenhagen pinch [Lyndon] Dykes and Adams. I wouldn't beryllium amazed to spot nan backmost 3 again. Or a 5-4-1. It could beryllium anything."

Denmark were booed disconnected astatine nan extremity of their tie pinch Belarus, caput coach Brian Riemer was furious astatine their capacity and location is simply a tummy bug successful their campy they fearfulness mightiness spread.

Dodds hopes that will springiness nan visitors "a antagonistic feeling" going into nan crippled successful Glasgow.

"Whether it's dropping points against Belarus, whether it's a sickie, there's uncertainty there," he said. "Surely that tin only beryllium a bully thing. We've sewage to provender disconnected that."

Dodds and McFadden person been present earlier arsenic players and seen nan build-up to crunch qualification games for nan nationalist team.

McFadden recalls nan "unbelievable" sound against nan Netherlands successful 2003 and Italy successful 2007.

"I deliberation this will beryllium nan same, nan build-up, nan anticipation, nan truth that, if you win, you're going to nan World Cup," he said. "When was nan past clip we had an opportunity for illustration this astatine Hampden? There'll beryllium a fewer sickies thrown successful connected nan time and nan time after.

"I missed a chance successful that Italy crippled and I still deliberation astir it."

Dodds excessively has unhappy memories, of nan 1999 play-off against England.

"The nationalist anthems were incredible," he remembers. "You couldn't perceive nan English nationalist anthem.

"David Seaman was beaten and it conscionable collapsed disconnected nan barroom and consecutive down connected nan line. I still deliberation 'what if', 'what if'."

His proposal to nan existent side? "Don't consciousness arsenic if you've not turned up," Dodds said. "Don't consciousness for illustration we didn't lend to nan game."

McFadden points retired that it is not nan Dutch, Italy aliases England who guidelines successful Scotland's measurement this time.

"Denmark are a bully side, but they're not 1 of nan champion teams successful nan world," he suggested.

McFadden admits he has concerns because "the performances person been poor" successful caller matches.

"We someway hit Greece 3-1 and we hit Belarus, truthful I couldn't get connected committee pinch being antagonistic and critical, not erstwhile you triumph games," he said. "But I did consciousness that, if that level of capacity continued, we won't triumph nan games we request to win."

However, McFadden believes nan mindset will beryllium different from "the weird scenario" successful Greece, wherever "all they talked astir was a draw".

"At 1 constituent Greece are 3-0 up and you're thinking, ah well, let's get fresh for nan play-offs. It feels for illustration there's thing location for america and I don't cognize how, it conscionable feels for illustration it's our time.

"It's sewage to beryllium a affirmative mindset - let's spell and beryllium great. We ever person 1 large capacity successful a run and we haven't had it yet - we're redeeming it up for Denmark."

Dodds excessively believes Scotland will return their chance this time.

"Because nan prize astatine nan extremity sitting location for you is going to springiness you drive, determination, belief," he added. "Lady Luck's connected our side."