Scotland v Denmark: Lady Luck, sickies & Hampden noise favour hosts

How could Scotland start so poorly and finish so impressively?

“Were we cautious because we had the mentality that a point might work?” Dodds wondered. “Maybe the cautious approach was due to what we needed outside of the game, but in the end we realized we were desperate and almost did it, but in the end it didn’t really matter, did it?

“It’s all about energy and belief. That’s when we do our best. It’s all about trying.”

McFadden thought “poor defending” and “tension” from previous talks with Greece contributed to Saturday’s eventful defeat.

“I thought our press was really weak,” he said. “They found it very easy to play in the areas they wanted to play in and we didn’t stop them.

“The distances between defence, midfield and attack were huge, so pressing was never working, but the second half started much better, started much more aggressively, we are pushing our players forward.

“You see Andy Robertson’s cross for Ryan Christie’s goal, it probably comes back early in the game because it’s not perfect, it’s jumping.

“Previously, John McGinn wasn’t going forward, Scott McTominay wasn’t going forward. We’re at our best when McGinn is going forward, McTominay is in the box, Robertson is coming off the line and putting crosses into the box, and for whatever reason, the last three games it hasn’t been like that.”

Clarke later said that “we need to believe in ourselves more”.

“I don’t know why they don’t believe in themselves since they are the players we all knew they could be,” McFadden said, recalling their fight to beat Belarus at Hampden.

“I don’t know if it’s a lack of belief, I don’t know if it’s a lack of confidence, but when you watch the players and they’re doing things that they wouldn’t normally do, even if it’s not for the good of the team, then you start to think about whether it’s time for some of those players to be replaced and then you see them moving forward and playing how they can play.

“Is it because this is a World Cup and there is a real fear of failure?”