Scotland’s Che Adams and Scott McTominay scored in each half as their side edged Belarus 2-1 in a crucial World Cup qualifying match at Hampden Park.
The opening goal came in the first half, around the 15th minute, when Jack Hendry’s forward pass found Adams just outside the box. Adams took a touch and curled a left-footed shot past the Belarus goalkeeper. Initially flagged offside, the goal was reinstated after a VAR check confirmed he was onside.
Belarus pushed for a response and appeared to level mid-second half when Evgeni Malashevich converted a chance. However, VAR intervened and ruled the goal out, adjudging there had been a foul on McTominay in the buildup.
Scott McTominay put Scotland further ahead in the 84th minute, connecting with an Andy Robertson cross and finishing smartly to make it 2-0.
In stoppage time, Belarus got a consolation goal via Hleb Kuchko, but it proved insufficient to alter the outcome.
With this result, Scotland now sit on 10 points from four matches in Group C, temporarily moving to the top spot. Belarus, on the other hand, have now suffered four straight defeats and are out of contention for qualification.
Despite the victory, Scotland drew criticism for a tepid and disjointed performance. Manager Steve Clarke described the display as far from convincing, noting that the team looked sluggish and lacked cohesion.
Next up for Scotland are fixtures against Greece (away) and Denmark (home), with both matches likely to have major implications for automatic qualification or playoff seeding.
