FOR now, any number of permutations remain possible at the top of Group D. Germany are guaranteed at least a play-off place and will qualify for the Euro 2016 finals with a game to spare if they can avoid defeat in Dublin. Poland and the Republic could, theoretically at least, still finish in any position from first to fourth, while all Scotland are shooting for now is third place and a play-off spot. You could call it the footballing equivalent of a dog's chance.
A draw may be sufficient for Joachim Loew's side, but as they tune in to events across the Irish Sea, Scotland fans will be hoping for an away victory. Such an outcome for Joachim Loew's side on the night would mean that a point against Poland would be sufficient for the Scots to sneak into third place, albeit with a couple of qualifications. First, that Scotland take care of business against Gibraltar in Faro on Sunday night, and secondly that the Republic of Ireland don't upset the odds by winning in Warsaw at the same time. While the doomsday scenario of Poland and Republic of Ireland carving out a draw at our expense isn't impossible, that would mean the Republic effectively settling for a play-off spot when automatic qualification is available.
Suffice to say Scotland's own hopes of qualification would look a lot brighter in the event that they can win on Thursday night. That would mean, assuming once again that the World Champions are too strong for Martin O'Neill's side in Dublin, that Gordon Strachan's side need only win in Faro to be assured of a play-off place. As the Scots would then boast a better head-to-head record than Poland and the Republic of Ireland, they would be sure to finish third regardless of the result on the group's final matchday in Warsaw. Assuming Germany go on to top the group with victory against the Georgians on the final matchday, such an eventuality would see the Poles and the Republic effectively left playing off to decide which finishes second and which finishes fourth.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here