The Scotland squad breathed a huge sigh of relief when Denmark’s draw with Belarus was confirmed, ensuring they returned to Hampden Park knowing that a win would secure automatic qualification despite losing in Greece.
Buoyed by a rousing rendition of the ‘Flower of Scotland’, Scott McTominay produced a magical finish to send Hampden wild inside the opening three minutes. With his back to goal, the 28-year-old leapt into the air to meet Ben Gannon-Doak’s lofted cross and conjure up a mesmerising bicycle kick to send the ball out of Kasper Schmeichel’s reach.
The assist proved to be Gannon-Doak’s only meaningful contribution to the game, with injury forcing the Bournemouth attacker to make way just after the 20-minute mark, leaving Scotland without a crucial attacking outlet.
The hosts spent the remainder of the first period focused on the opposite end of the pitch, as Denmark pushed hard to carve out an equaliser.
McTominay’s Napoli teammate, Rasmus Hojlund, saw an effort chalked off for a push as Steve Clarke’s charges stood firm to take a precious lead into the break.
That slender advantage was wiped out within 15 minutes of the restart, when Hojlund sent Craig Gordon the wrong way from the penalty spot after Andrew Robertson was penalised for a rash challenge on Gustav Isaksen on the corner of the box.
After being silenced, the Tartan Army were soon given a renewed sense of optimism when Rasmus Kristensen was controversially given his marching orders, receiving his second yellow for a soft foul on McGinn.
Clarke swiftly introduced the forward duo of Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland, with the latter making a major impact just shy of the 80-minute mark.
The Hearts striker was left with the simple task of turning home Lewis Ferguson’s whipped corner into the six-yard box, only to see his effort quickly cancelled out by Patrick Dorgu, who slotted in from the near post to leave his nation on the brink of qualification.
However, just as all hope seemed lost, Tierney etched his name in Scottish football history, pouncing on a failed Danish clearance to curl an unstoppable strike out of Schmeichel’s reach from the edge of the box.
McLean then sealed the deal, catching Schmeichel off his line to score a stunner from the halfway line to spark emotional scenes of bedlam around Hampden, sealing Scotland’s ticket to next year’s tournament and condemning Denmark to the lottery of the playoffs.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lewis Ferguson (Scotland)