What results Scotland need to qualify for World Cup knockouts after Uruguay result gives them glimmer of hope

The odds are certainly stacked against them, but Scotland can still reach the World Cup knockouts for the first time in their history if an unlikely scenario plays out in the coming hours.

Steve Clarke's side currently sit 10th in the 12-team third-place table, with only the top eight progressing to the last 32.

At one stage, Scotland were given a 42% chance of qualifying following their 3-0 defeat against Brazil, but that number dropped significantly to 6.89% after results involving South Korea, Ecuador and Sweden went against them.

Paraguay then played out a 0-0 draw against Australia, a result that benefitted both teams, while Scotland's chances of making the knockouts decreased again to 5.26%.

And the latest set of results were a mixed bag. Spain beat Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay on Friday evening, a welcome boost for the Scots, but Iran's draw against Egypt has left them with a slim chance of progressing.

It was a disappointing night for the Scots. Image credit: Getty

So, what results do Scotland need to qualify for the next stage? They come into the final day of the group stages with a goal difference of -3, so it's going to be extremely tricky.

On Saturday, Croatia must lose to Ghana by at least three goals in Group L.

They also require Uzbekistan's Group K clash with DR Congo to be a draw, or Uzbekistan to win by no more than three goals.

And if that wasn't enough, Scotland need Algeria to lose by two or more goals, or Austria to lose by at least four goals. However, if both teams draw that Group J fixture, they would both progress to the knockout stages.

According to Opta, Scotland have a 0.07% chance of qualifying.

The best third-place standings heading into the final day. Image credit: Reddit

After the full-time whistle against Brazil, head coach Steve Clarke said they were "probably going home".

"It was a disappointing performance, a poor result. If you give a team like Brazil the chances like we gave them, you expect to get puniushed," Clarke said in a much-talked-about post-match interview.

"That is what happened and as for our chances at the moment, I think we are probably going home."

He added: "The first thing we have to do is go away and compute that performance and why we lost the game in the manner we did. We can worry about the rest later."

READ MORE: Steve Clarke slammed by Scotland fans for interview immediately after Brazil defeat

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