Scotland’s Epic Qualification & Latest Euro 2024 Odds

by Luke Andrews, 17 October 2023

The Tartan Army have reason to celebrate after the Scottish football team qualified for Euro 2024, becoming the first home nation to do so. Five wins out of five in Group A put them on the verge of qualification, and when Norway was beaten 1-0 by Spain, it meant Scotland couldn’t be caught. In this article, our resident football expert, Luke Andrews, reviews a historic qualification campaign and assesses their chances of Euro 2024 success.

Despite having a reputation for having some of the best fans in football, being a member of the Tartan Army has often led to disappointment, especially when it comes to major tournaments. Scotland was also far from profitable when football betting, as they lost far more than they won.

From 1990 to 1998, Scotland qualified for four major tournaments, missing out only once. This streak encompassed both the 1992 and 1996 European Championships. But then came the Euro slump, as it would be a wait of 24 years until they qualified for the competition again, finally ending the miserable spell by reaching Euro 2020 (that took place in 2021 due to the pandemic).

EURO 2024 – Simply Stunning Scotland

When the draw for UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying took place on Sunday, 9 October 2022, in Frankfurt, there were likely loud groans from the Scotland fans as they were placed into a tough group.

The Scots were placed in Group A, alongside Spain, Norway, Georgia & Cyprus. At first glance, it’s obvious why many thought Scotland would struggle in the group, and many thought the best they could hope for was to qualify in third behind Spain & Norway.

Spain, the 2010 World Cup winner, has won the European Championship three times (1964, 2008, 2012) and was the bookies’ favourite to win the group. Although arguably not the finest Spanish team, it is still packed full of stars with players such as Manchester City’s Rodri, Jordi Alba, Atletico Madrid’s Álvaro Morata, Ferran Torres and exciting youngsters including Gavi (19) and Barcelona’s Ansu Fati, who is currently on loan at Brighton.

Norway also has a few stars in their team. Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard is in fine form for club and country and Benfica’s Fredrik Aursnes, Villarreal’s Alexander Sørloth and Antonio Nusa, who plays for Club Bruges all catching the eye.

Of course, the leading man for Norway is undoubtedly Erling Haaland, who many would consider is the greatest footballer on the planet right now.

Haaland’s debut season with Manchester City was nothing short of spectacular, breaking numerous records and winning multiple titles. The youngster Helped Manchester City win the 2022–23 Premier League title, contributed to City’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester United and played in City’s 1–0 Champions League final win against Inter Milan, securing a treble for the club. He scored 50 goals across all competitions in his first season with City.

In this current campaign, Haaland has picked up right where he left off and has scored eight goals in eight Premier League games.

Georgia and Cyprus were expected to be the whipping boys in the group. The current FIFA rankings are as follows; Spain are 10th, Scotland 31st, Norway 43rd, Georgia, 79th and Cyprus 120th.

How Sensational Scotland Took Group A by Storm

Few expected Scotland to shine in what was perceived as a tough group. In this section, I’ll recap the games that saw Steve Clarke’s men claim qualification with two games to spare.

Euro 2022 Qualifiers Game 1 – 25 March – Scotland 3 Cyprus 0

With Spain and Norway deemed the main threat in the group, it was vital that the Scots got their qualification off to a winning start in a home tie against Cyprus.

Scotland dominated in the first half, but late goals sealed the win. John McGinn scored the opening goal, and Scott McTominay sealed the victory with a late double (87th and 90th minute). After Nicholas Ioannou’s late red card, Cyprus ended the game with 10 men.

The victory marked Scotland’s first winning start to a Euro qualifying campaign since 2006. In the other game, Former Newcastle and Stoke striker Joselu scored twice on debut for Spain in the 3-0 win over Norway.

Joselu, aged 32, became the oldest player to make a Spain debut since 2006. He struggled during his time at Newcastle, scoring only seven times, but has since netted 49 goals across 139 appearances for Alaves and Espanyol. It was Luis de la Fuente’s first match as the Spanish national team’s new manager, replacing Luis Enrique.

Euro 2022 Qualifiers Game 2 – 28 March – Scotland 2-0 Spain

Just three days after their Euro opener, Scotland faced Spain and let’s be honest, not even the most ardent Scottish fan expected much from the game. However, once again, Scott McTominay scored two goals, becoming a national hero. His double meant Scotland earned their first win over Spain in 39 years, and as a result, Scotland topped Group A, three points ahead of Spain.

Scotland’s loyal supporters finally see their loyalty vindicated with this historic win.

In the other game, there was another shock, with Georgia earning a 1-1 draw against Norway,

Euro 2022 Qualifiers Game 3- 17 June – Norway 1-2 Scotland

After a two-month break in the qualifying campaign, Scotland’s next game was against Norway, a team that was expected to be Scotland’s main competition.

Norway had the majority of possession throughout the game, and it was no surprise when Erling Haaland gave the home side the lead from the spot. Ryan Porteous blithely stuck out a leg, which caught Haaland, who converted with the penalty.

The game seemed to be heading for a 1-0 win for Norway, and sensing the win, the Norway manager decided to substitute Haaland late on. It would prove to be a massive mistake as the substitution seemed to encourage Scotland, and late goals from Lyndon Dykes and Kenny McLean secured a stunning comeback win.

With Spain not in action, the result kept Scotland six points clear of Spain in Group A and eight points ahead of Norway.

Euro 2022 Qualifiers Game 4 – 20 June – Scotland 2-0 Georgia

Three days later, they were back in action on home soil in a wet and windy Scotland. So bad were the conditions that the game was held up for 90 minutes to wait out the downpour.

Scotland won 2-0 against Georgia after Callum McGregor scored for Scotland and Scott McTominay’s second-half goal secured the three points. It was a win that continued their impressive 10-game streak in qualifiers and put them eight points clear at the top of the group.

The victory meant Scotland had won six consecutive home matches under Steve Clarke and scored at least twice in four successive matches.

Euro 2022 Qualifiers Game 5 – 8 September – Cyprus 0-3 Scotland

So many times in Scotland’s history have they played well in the big games, only to be disappointing against teams they were expected to beat. Therefore, the 3-0 demolition of Cyprus away would have felt great for Scotland fans.

The results & goals which saw us qualify for Euro 2024 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Scotland 3-0 Cyprus 🇨🇾
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Scotland 2-0 Spain 🇪🇸
🇳🇴 Norway 1-2 Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland 2-0 Georgia 🇬🇪
🇨🇾 Cyprus 0-3 Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

🗣“This is a Scotland side on the cusp of something very special indeed”

🇩🇪🔜 pic.twitter.com/8eotJ9KkFd

— Scotland Goals (@ScotlandNTGoals) October 16, 2023

Once again, Scotland’s new messiah, Scott McTominay was instrumental, scoring the opener and assisting for the third (Porteous, and McGinn scored the other two).

The team’s strong performance resulted from Clarke’s strategic approach and a mix of talented players, and the win meant they needed a maximum of two points from their remaining three qualifiers to secure a spot in Euro 2024.

Euro 2022 Qualifiers Game 6 – 12 October – Spain 2-0 Scotland

Scotland’s quest to qualify for Euro 2024 was painfully extended following their initial loss in the qualifiers during a vexing evening in Spain.

In pursuit of a spot in back-to-back European Championships, a blend of unwavering concentration, eleventh-hour tackles, and Spanish inefficiency kept the hosts without a goal until Alvaro Morata’s elusive sprint and header late in the second half.

Just moments before, Scott McTominay had ignited jubilation among the Scottish fans with a stunning free-kick that beat Unai Simon, only for the score to be nullified following a VAR assessment.

The Scottish misery was intensified in the final minutes when Spain secured a second goal through a Ryan Porteous own goal.

Although Scotland felt aggrieved at the decisions, the pain didn’t last long. A few days later, Spain beat Norway 1-0, meaning Scotland couldn’t be overtaken by Norway and the Tartan Army could start celebrations and think of their trip to Germany.

The Latest Winner Odds for EURO 2024

The next big test for Scotland is getting past a group stage at a major tournament, a feat they have never achieved. Although they currently have the bragging rights over England due to qualifying first, Scotland fans crave their team reaching the knockout stages.

Bookmakers such as bet365 have them as 14th place in the betting stakes, but few expect them to challenge for the competition win. France are currently favourites at 4/1, just ahead of England at 9/2.

Although qualification is secured for Scotland, they still have two games left to play. Georgia and Norway are yet to come. They will want to win those games and hope Spain slips up to enable them to claim the top spot and become one of the seeded teams when the tournament draw is made.