‘We have to qualify now’ – Scotland produce stunning late comeback against Norway to boost Euro 2024 hopes

Scotland pulled a rabbit from the hat as two late goals in the space of two minutes earned a 2-1 comeback win away to Norway that provides a momentous boost to their Euro 2024 qualification hopes.

A third consecutive victory for the Scots puts them on nine points at the top of Group A, six points ahead of Spain, who have a game in hand, and eight clear of Norway in fourth.

For a long time, that result seemed improbable; an Erling Haaland penalty after 61 minutes gave the hosts the lead iand Steve Clarke’s side showed little sign of mustering a response in a drab game played in sweltering conditions.

But Lyndon Dykes profited on some dozy Norwegian defending to guide home an equaliser in the 87th minute, before substitute Kenny McLean curled home the winner to stun the Oslo crowd.

“The lads who came off the bench did so well. Going behind is difficult, but we knew this was the next step in our improvement,” Scotland captain Andy Robertson told Viaplay.

“It was trying to get the balance right. The team spirit is second to none. To create that in international football is unique. We couldn’t have started this campaign better. We have to qualify now.”

It was the second big result in a row for Clarke’s side, who beat Spain 2-0 at Hampden Park in March, and leaves them in a commanding position to take one of the two automatic qualification places ahead of Tuesday’s clash with Georgia in Glasgow.

In Group G, Montenegro and Hungary both missed the chance to go joint-top with Serbia as they played out a 0-0 draw in Podgorica.

The result leaves Hungary in second place on four points, two behind Serbia, while Montenegro also have four points in third place, having played an extra game.

The battle between the bottom two ended in a 1-1 draw between Lithuania and Bulgaria, the first point either team has earned so far in this qualifying campaign.

Edvinas Girdvainis put hosts Lithuania in front after 15 minutes, but Justas Lasickas was sent off two minutes later and Marin Petkov levelled before the break.

However, the Bulgarians couldn’t make the extra man count as they had to settle for a draw despite having 27 shots to their opponents’ four and 68% possession.

In Group J, Luxembourg earned their first win of the campaign by beating rock-bottom Liechtenstein 2-0 to climb into third place on four points.

Azerbaijan drew 1-1 with Estonia in Group F, Anton Krivotsyuk responding to Rauno Sappinen’s first-half opener, leaving the two nations in the bottom two spots with one point each.