Do Scotland need to beat Denmark to be seeded for World Cup play-off? What happens if Scotland lose or draw?

Scotland have already secured their place in the World Cup play-offs with a game to spare.

The 2-0 win over Moldova on Friday was the first time the country has won five successive matches since 2007 and ensured there will be at least one huge tie to play in March 2022 for a place at Qatar 2022.

While Scotland’s play-off place is guaranteed, what remains up for grabs is the seeding status – which makes tonight’s match against Denmark at Hampden Park hugely important.

Here is everything you need to know:

Scotland will be hoping to be seeded for the World Cup play-off. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

How do the play-off seedings work?

The six countries who have the best runners-up record from the group stage will be seeded for the first play-off match. The other four runners-up, plus the two qualifiers from the Nations League, will be unseeded.

In turn, the twelve teams will be split into three play-off paths consisting of four teams.

The seeded teams will get home ties for the semi-final and then a random draw will decide which team hosts the final.

In terms of seeding, Scotland’s results against Moldova mean nothing.

Why?

Scotland are in one of the five qualifying groups with six nations. The other five groups have five teams. Because of that, all results against the team from pot six are discounted.

Moldova were that team in Scotland's group therefore the wins at Hampden Park and in Chisinau mean little for seeding purposes.

What does it mean for the Denmark game?

Despite the teams having secured the top two spots, it is a big game for Scotland.

A win will secure a place amongst the seeds and a home tie at a sold-out Hampden Park for the semi-final. A draw could do likewise unless Wales match or better Scotland’s result against Belgium in Cardiff tomorrow night.

Defeat and Scotland will have slim to no chance of being seeded. The only hope then would be a Wales defeat to Belgium, as well as Czech Republic failing to beat Estonia at home. Turkey and Norway would also need to slip up. All highly unlikely.

For teams tied on the same points, it will come down to goal difference then goals scored.

How the seedings currently stand:

1 Portugal 17pts, 2 Russia 16pts, 3 Switzerland 15pts, 4 Sweden 15pts, 5 Poland 14pts, 6 Wales 14pts, 7 Scotland 14pts, 8 North Macedonia 12pts, 9 Turkey 12pts, 10 Finland 11pts.

What does it mean for Scotland?

After the weekend matches, Steve Clarke’s men have dropped out of a seeded position which, as things stand, means they will face an away match against a seeded team in the play-off semi-final.

Wales’ thumping of Belarus lifted them above Scotland due to goals scored, while Norway surprisingly dropped points at home to Latvia which meant Turkey moved into second spot in Group G.

Turkey will now be expected to finish on 15 points, provided they beat Montenegro on Tuesday. Wales have a much harder task, hosting Belgium. Czech Republic could take advantage of a Wales loss by defeating Estonia to finish on 14 points and they could have a higher goal difference if they win handsomely.

Sweden lost to Spain on Sunday in their final fixture so they have finished on 15 points.

Serbia’s last minute win over Portugal in Group A condemned Cristiano Ronaldo’s side to second place, along with Russia, who lost to Croatia on Sunday.

All in all, it really is on a knife-edge but Scotland know they can do their part by getting a result against Denmark.

When are the play-offs?

The draw for the play-offs is on November 26.

The semi-finals will take place on March 24–25 with the finals scheduled for March 28–29.

The three winners will join the ten group winners at the World Cup in Qatar which begins November 21.

Get a year of unlimited access to all The Scotsman's sport coverage without the need for a full subscription. Expert analysis of the biggest games, exclusive interviews, live blogs, transfer news and 70 per cent fewer ads on Scotsman.com - all for less than £1 a week. Subscribe to us today