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Hampden Park has been the stage for many historic occasions over its illustrious history since 1903. Remember this one to the annals. The Scottish extended absence has concluded. Steve Clarke, Andy Robertson, the midfielder, John McGinn; they will be at the World Cup. So too Kieran Tierney, whose bending shot from outside the box looked like it had clinched victory in a high-scoring affair until Kenny McLean delivered an more breathtaking fourth.

Nearly three decades of frustration, during which the Scottish men's team have observed the World Cup from afar, were erased as Denmark fell to a loss in added time. Grown men in traditional dress cried. Denmark's participation in next summer’s jamboree hinges on qualifiers. Clarke and a now jubilant Scottish football community can prepare solid plans.

PhD students could write studies on how on earth the team achieved this. They looked defeated at times, no more recently than the weekend when suffering a loss in Greece. It was like someone, somewhere had decided the Scots had endured sufficient for a return to the World Cup. The contributions of Tierney and the midfielder were incredible.

The Game Begins

The evening had supposedly started in difficult circumstances for Scotland. John Souttar, who had been set to play alongside the centre-back in the back line, was hurt in the warm-up. His replacement filled in. Any sense of problem was dispelled in the first few minutes.

This was some of the most amazing finishes delivered at Hampden in recent times.

The winger dribbled and dodged on the right. The Bournemouth winger’s arched delivery should have been tricky for McTominay to handle. He was facing away from goal, to begin with. Instead, he launched himself into the air and executed an scissor kick past the grasp of the goalkeeper. This historic stadium exploded, not only in acknowledgment of the opening goal but the unique situation in which it arrived. Wow.

Game Battle

McTominay was performing like a driven individual. The young winger looked electric. The home team's offense was evident in pushing forward too ferociously; Craig Gordon denied from Rasmus Højlund after the opposition striker was sent clean through. The assistant's flag was raised but Højlund could have been onside a VAR review were it required. As Mikkel Damsgaard flashed a ball across the Scottish goal and the defender deflected effectively from Victor Froholdt, the Scots were in a fight to keep their lead.

Gannon-Doak had panicked the Danish team with his speed. It felt a major setback to the manager, then, as the Bournemouth man overstretched when trying to stop a pass. He left the scene on a stretcher after only the first half.

The striker soon had the goal in the net but was penalised for a push on Aaron Hickey. By the 30-minute mark, the team were living far too recklessly, a fact further emphasised as the defender turned a Pierre‑Emile Højbjerg shot narrowly wide. Yet they reached the break unscathed. They were also denied of a golden chance of a two-goal lead, Rasmus Kristensen cleverly fouling McGinn, receiving a yellow card, after the player capitalised on opposition slackness.

Second Half Excitement

The attacker made Gordon into a smart, down stop within a minute and a half of the restart. If Scotland were going to succeed, the remainder would feel like the decades since their last World Cup. Given Denmark only required a draw, the flow of play from the onset of the second period felt ominous for the home team. They were succeeding – to a point – in breaking up Danish attacks but immediately giving the ball right back to the players in red.

When the tying goal came, it came with the whiff of cordite associated.

The official originally saw nothing wrong with the captain's challenge on Gustav Isaksen on the angle of the penalty area. Indeed, it seemed Isaksen went down into the ground. After being instructed to review by the VAR, the referee awarded the spot. Højlund smashed into the net. On the overall play, parity was the minimum Denmark merited but the hosts had reason to be upset about the circumstances.

Late Action

All this thrilling game lacked was a sending off. It arrived on the hour, the defender's another infraction of the match on a attacking midfielder earning a second yellow card. Now Clarke twisted by bringing on the forwards one substitute and Che Adams.

The move was to prove effective. Denmark's defending of an inswinging Lewis Ferguson corner was poor, allowing the striker to score. The Hearts frontman, brought on for his goal-scoring ability, produced precisely that. The opposition manager the coach, though, had cause to be angry at how simple it was.

The home team had no time to build on their advantage. Within moments, a Danish player placed into the net after a teammate laid into his way inside the box from goal. This time Scotland were overly careless.

The striker directed a shot wide. The midfielder's curling attempt narrowly went past the post. Then came the defender and a goal fit to deciding the game. McLean provided the finish: from the midfield, indeed.