Scotland vs Norway. European Championship Qualifying Group A.
Hampden ParkAttendance48,138.
Report as Scotland draw 3-3 with Norway in their final Euro 2024 qualifier; Steve Clarke's side secured qualification with two games to spare; the draw for next summer's tournament will take place on December 2
Monday 20 November 2023 06:06, UK
It was a party at Hampden Park as Scotland rounded off a successful Euro 2024 campaign with a 3-3 draw against Norway.
Steve Clarke's side secured their place in Germany with two games to spare but the Tartan Army had not been back at the National Stadium to celebrate.
A four-goal first half saw Scotland equalise twice. Aron Donnum fired the hosts ahead before his handball saw John McGinn level from the penalty spot.
Jorgen Strand Larsen turned in a deflected cross but Leo Ostigard's own-goal had Scotland back level.
Stuart Armstrong fired home what Scotland hoped was the winner but former Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi headed in with just minutes left.
The result combined with Spain's 3-1 victory over Georgia in the night's other Group A match means Scotland will be in pot three for next summer's tournament.
Norway were out to spoil Scotland's celebrations and get revenge for their 2-1 defeat in Oslo, and they took the lead after just three minutes when Scotland failed to deal with a cross into the box allowing Donnum to fire past Zander Clark.
It was not long until Scotland sparked into life and, after Scott McTominay's effort was cleared, they were awarded a penalty when Callum McGregor's shot crashed off Donnum's arm.
McGinn made no mistake and pulled the hosts level but the celebrations were short-lived lived and Norway were back in front after as Strand Larsen poked home a deflected cross.
It was end-to-end and Scotland were level again when McTominay's corner came off Ostigard's thigh and into his own net.
Patrick Berg smashed a free-kick inches over the bar and Nathan Patterson cleared Donnum's shot off the line as the visitors pushed for another before Armstrong saw his low shot fly just past the far post just before the break.
Neither side looked as threatening in the early stages of the second half with Armstrong firing wide again.
Donnum was then denied by Clarke and Armstrong fired wide before the Southampton midfielder hammered home McGinn's cross as Scotland took the lead for the first time in match.
The Tartan Army burst into life with a chorus of "we're going to Germany" as the rain lashed down.
Steve Clarke then rang the changes as Lewis Ferguson, Lyndon Dykes and Ryan Christie replaced Armstrong, Kenny McLean and Jacob Brown with McGinn receiving rapturous applause from the stands as he limped off soon after.
Norway were not willing to give up and Elyounoussi headed in Julian Ryerson's cross to level the game late on.
Lawrence Shankland made a late appearance but could not find the net as he had in against Georgia in Tbilisi three days earlier.
Scotland's failure to win in five matches did not dampen the celebrations as the players donned "We're off to Germany" t-shirts and lapped up the cheers during a lap of honour.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke:
"It was a nice night for the supporters to say thank you to the team and a nice night for the team and the staff to thank the supporters.
"That part of the night was pretty good!
"I'll probably spend the next couple of days recovering then after that I'll probably look back at the games against Norway and Georgia to see what I and the players could have done better.
"Then I'll get myself ready for a trip to Hamburg which is great because we're in the draw. It's something everyone can look forward to next summer.
"We've still got a lot of work to do."
Scotland will discover their Euro 2024 group when the draw is made on December 2. It gets underway at 5pm.
