With Greece already eliminated and Scotland chasing top spot in Group C, the onus was on the visitors to set the tone in Piraeus. However, a dreadful start from the visitors saw Greece assume total domination and break the deadlock inside 10 minutes.
A long ball forward completely caught out Steve Clarke’s defence, and after Vangelis Pavlidis’ shot was saved by Craig Gordon, the rebound fell to Anastasios Bakasetas, who jinked past Grant Hanley and slammed home the opener.
It was the first away goal Scotland had conceded in 2025, and they were indebted to Gordon for staying in the game in a totally one-sided first half, with the 42-year-old stopper standing tall to Christos Tzolis before firing wide again moments later.
Pavlidis could only direct Tzolis’ square ball wide at the back post on the stretch, which led to the Benfica forward being brought off injured.
The Tartan Army were on the ropes, but having withstood the pressure, they rallied at the end of the half and came close to an unlikely equaliser.
Scott McTominay curled against the bar with a first-time strike from the edge of the area, before Che Adams headed wide and Ben Gannon Doak was denied by Odysseas Vlachdimos to offer hope for the second half ahead.
Scotland carried that momentum after the interval and ought to have equalised when Ryan Christie burst through and squared to Adams, but the striker saw two goalbound efforts blocked by recovering defenders.
Those misses proved costly when Greece appeared to put the game to bed by scoring twice within the space of six minutes either side of the hour mark.
First, Andrews Tetteh breezed past Hanley and cut back for Konstantinos Karetsas to slot in at the near post, before Tzolis’ long-range strike burst through Gordon’s hands for his sixth goal in his last 10 internationals.
Clarke’s men showed their fighting spirit by immediately pulling one back when Gannon Doak turned home from John McGinn’s cross, and faint comeback hopes were suddenly ignited when Christie headed home from another brilliant delivery from the left, this time from Andrew Robertson.
Momentum was truly with the visitors, and only a miraculous save from the outstretched leg of Vlachodimos prevented McTominay from sensationally restoring parity.
An incredible conclusion had another twist in store when Bakasetas was sent off, receiving a second yellow card for an elbow on Lewis Ferguson, inspiring yet more hope in the away camp.
However, Scotland ultimately ran out of time to complete an incredible fightback, but Denmark being held to a draw by Belarus means that they can still advance directly to the World Cup should they beat the Danes on the final matchday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christos Tzolis (Greece)
