Scotland took one other step towards World Cup 2026 qualification with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Belarus at Hampden Park, although they had been made to sweat after a late rally from the guests.
Targets from Che Adams and Scott McTominay proved sufficient for Steve Clarke’s facet, however a stoppage-time strike from Gleb Kuchko ensured a tense end to a match that was removed from routine for the Scots.
The hosts started brightly, desperate to bounce again from latest inconsistency, and practically took the lead early when Che Adams noticed his shot blocked following good work by Billy Gilmour.
Belarus, nevertheless, had been no pushovers, forcing Angus Gunn right into a high-quality save from Pavel Zabelin’s header inside ten minutes as they confirmed attacking intent of their very own.
The breakthrough arrived within the fifteenth minute when Adams completed confidently from shut vary after Jack Hendry’s intelligent move break up the defence.
The Southampton striker’s low left-footed effort discovered the underside nook, and although a prolonged VAR examine adopted, the purpose stood to present Scotland the benefit they deserved.
Clarke’s facet pushed for a second earlier than the interval. Ben Doak, full of life all through, noticed two efforts denied by Belarus goalkeeper Fedor Lapoukhov, whereas Gilmour fired narrowly over the bar.
On the different finish, Valeri Gromyko’s bold long-range effort was one of the best Belarus might muster earlier than half-time, as Scotland went into the break 1-0 up.
Second-half sweats
The second half noticed Scotland proceed to regulate possession however fail to kill off the competition. John McGinn’s curling effort was comfortably saved, and Scott McTominay’s long-range strike was parried away by Lapoukhov.
There was a scare for the hosts simply previous the hour mark when Evgeni Malashevich had the ball within the internet for Belarus, just for VAR to rule it out for offside within the build-up.
That warning appeared to jolt Scotland into life. With simply six minutes left, captain Andy Robertson whipped in a trademark cross from the left, and McTominay arrived late within the field to information a composed end into the underside nook.
Nonetheless, the drama was removed from over. Deep into stoppage time, Kuchko lowered the deficit with a tidy end from shut vary after Nikita Korzun’s move carved open the Scottish defence. Belarus pushed ahead frantically within the dying moments, with German Barkovskiy seeing a deflected shot blocked, however Scotland held agency via the ultimate seconds to safe a significant three factors.
