Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Group C - Scotland v Belarus - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - October 12, 2025 Scotland's Scott McTominay scores their second goal Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) -Scotland's Che Adams and Scott McTominay scored in each half to beat Belarus 2-1 on Sunday, provisionally rising to the top of Group D in the World Cup qualifiers with 10 points from four matches.
Denmark, who have seven points from three matches, play third-placed Greece later in the day in a bid to reclaim top spot. The group winners qualify for the 2026 World Cup, while the runners-up progress to playoffs.
Bottom side Belarus pressed the hosts early, earning three corners in the first 10 minutes with a Pavel Zabelin header going just over the crossbar.
But Scotland scored five minutes later, with Jack Hendry's through ball finding Adams at the edge of the box for a left-foot finish. The Torino forward was initially flagged offside, but a VAR video review showed he was onside.
Belarus, looking better than their world ranking of 100th, had 22 shots in the game and thought they had equalised through Yevgeny Malashevich in the 63rd minute, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check due to a foul on McTominay in the build-up.
Napoli midfielder McTominay scored from Andy Robertson's cross in the 84th minute, as Belarus suffered their fourth straight loss despite Gleb Kuchko's strike in added time, eliminating them from the race for the top two spots.
Scotland finish their group campaign next month with matches against Greece and Denmark.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
