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Scotland's national stadium has witnessed countless memorable events throughout its illustrious history since 1903. Include this match to the record. The Scottish extended drought has ended. The manager, the captain, the midfielder, the playmaker; you shall go to the ball. So too the defender, whose curling shot from outside the box seemed to have sealed the win by the odd goal in five until Kenny McLean produced an even more breathtaking final goal.

Almost 30 years of heartache, during which the Scottish men's team have watched the global tournament from a distance, were wiped away as the Danish team fell to a loss in added time. Adult fans in traditional dress cried. The Danish participation in next summer’s tournament rests on March playoffs. Clarke and a now jubilant country can prepare definite plans.

Researchers could develop papers on how on earth Scotland pulled off this. They looked down and out at moments, as recently as Saturday when suffering a loss in Athens. It was as though fate had decided the Scots had waited long enough for a World Cup return. The contributions of Tierney and the midfielder were incredible.

The Night Begins

The evening had reportedly started in challenging fashion for Scotland. John Souttar, who had been set to partner the centre-back in the back line, was hurt in the warm-up. Grant Hanley stepped in. Any sense of problem was banished within the first few minutes.

It was some of the most spectacular finishes produced at the stadium in living memory.

The winger dribbled and dodged on the right. The Bournemouth winger’s floated pass should have been tricky for McTominay to navigate. He was with his back to goal, initially. Rather, McTominay launched himself into the sky and landed an bicycle kick past the reach of Kasper Schmeichel. This historic stadium exploded, not just in acknowledgment of the first goal but the special circumstances in which it occurred. Incredible.

Midfield Contest

The Scottish midfielder was performing like a driven individual. Gannon-Doak seemed explosive. Scottish threat was evident in attacking aggressively; Craig Gordon denied from Rasmus Højlund after the opposition forward was sent clean through. The offside flag was raised but Højlund might have survived a VAR review were it required. As a Danish player sent a ball across the Scotland area and McKenna deflected well from another attacker, the home side were in a contest to hold their advantage.

Gannon-Doak had panicked the Danish team with his quickness. It felt a major loss to Clarke, at that point, as the Bournemouth man strained when attempting to stop a cross. He departed the scene on a medical cart after only the first half.

Højlund soon had the goal in the goal but was flagged for a foul on Aaron Hickey. By the 30-minute mark, the team were living far too dangerously, a point highlighted as the defender turned a midfielder shot just wide. Yet they reached the break unscathed. They were even denied of a golden opportunity of a two-goal lead, a Danish defender cleverly fouling McGinn, earning a yellow card, after the midfielder took advantage of opposition mistakes.

Final Period Action

The attacker forced the keeper into a smart, down stop within the opening moments of the second half. If Scotland were going to succeed, the half would be like the long wait since their last World Cup. Given Denmark only required a draw, the direction of attacks right from the start of the second period felt ominous for the home team. They were managing – partially – in breaking up Denmark attacks but immediately handing the ball back to the players in red.

When the equaliser came, it came with the whiff of dispute attached.

The referee initially noticed nothing wrong with Robertson tackle on Gustav Isaksen on the angle of the box. In fact, it appeared the player went down into the ground. After being advised to look again by the VAR, the referee awarded the penalty spot. Højlund smashed home. On the overall play, the equalizer was the minimum Denmark deserved but Scotland had reason to be sore about the call.

Late Action

The only thing exciting game was missing was a dismissal. It arrived on the hour, Kristensen second foul of the night on a marauding McGinn bringing another caution. Now Clarke twisted by introducing the forwards one substitute and another.

The move was to work out. The Danish defending of an inswinging Lewis Ferguson corner was poor, letting the striker to score. The substitute, introduced for his predatory instinct, produced precisely that. The Danish head coach Brian Riemer, though, had cause to be furious at how straightforward it was.

The home team had little time to extend their lead. Within a short time, Patrick Dorgu stroked home after a teammate laid into his way from close range from the net. On this occasion Scotland were overly careless.

The striker directed a header off target. The midfielder's bending shot narrowly missed the post. Enter the defender and a strike fit to deciding the contest. The substitute sealed it: from the midfield, at that.