Happy Scotland?

Scotland hit four goals past San Marino on Wednesday night.

Although manager Craig Brown demanded goals from his team, their return could be considered poor.

San Marino are officially Europe's worst team and they were thrashed 10-1 in their last game against Belgium.

Scotland's result puts extra pressure on them and it looks like Belgium will have a big advantage if Group Six comes down to goal difference.

Were Scotland guilty of wasteful finishing up front? Could they have done more to help their goal difference?

Did we expect too much of the Scots?

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Group Six will be decided in the games between Scotland, Belgium and Croatia. Assuming each of these countries pick up maximum points against San Marino and Latvia, as has happened so far, the group becomes effectively a league of three.

Each of the three games played so far between these countries have so far been drawn. If this continues the three teams will have the same points at the end at goal difference will become the deciding factor.

Scotland could end up third and leave the competition undefeated. There are three games left and we need seven points from those to qualify. We have to beat Latvia and Croatia at Hampden and hope for at least a draw in Belgium.

Belgium's last minute equaliser looks like being far more damaging than only scoring four against San Marino.
George, UK

I think Scotland were unlucky against the Belgians and a sound performance and victory against San Marino was vital. Although the result wasn't quite a 10-1 drubbing, it got the job done and keeps Craig Brown's boys on course for second spot at least.

This result will be quickly forgotten in September when they face Croatia and Belgium in a matter of days. It's those kind of fixtures that will decide the qualifiers so I don't think we should read too much into games at home to the minnows of Europe!
Alistair Potter, Cambridge, UK

A win is a win, no matter how many goals are scored. San Marino are a poor side at this level, and yes we should have scored more. A 4-0 victory is a big disappointment for everybody bearing in mind we were 3 up after 34 minutes against effectively an East of Scotland Seniors League/Dr Martens League standard side. Scotland have got 2 big games to come, against Belgium away and at home to Croatia. Win one and draw the other, we will be off to Japan and Korea without sweating on goal difference.

Let's be optimistic, but we need to convert one or 2 of the few clear cut goal scoring chances to enable us to get the results we need against 2 good quality teams. Maybe lady luck will come our way as well for once.

It's painfully obvious to everybody's eye that goalscoring is a major problem for Scotland as was the case in both matches against San Marino and Belgium. It shouldn't though come down to a situation where a team fails to qualify for the World Cup because they score less goals against such weak opposition as San Marino than their other major group rivals do. As happens in the European Champions League, if 2 teams finish level at the top of the table, it's who won on aggregate between the 2 teams and/or away goals, rather than goal difference.

San Marino and the Faroe Islands are completely out of their depth at this level

  David, Scotland

San Marino should have to pre-qualify for the World Cup or European Championships qualifying stages together with simillar teams such as the Faroe Islands, Liechtenstein, Andorra and others. Mind you these are amateur teams who are giving 100% for their manager and country. I am sure that the population of San Marino will be celebrating their performance of avoiding a humiliating defeat, limited though their side is.

It's totally unfair to expect these small nations to come out and attack Scotland, Germany, France etc because they lack the resources, and they would be ripped apart even more and suffer even heavier defeats than they do at present. And these little teams struggle defensively when up against the feared combination of sustained pace and quality combined.

San Marino, Faroes etc are completely out of their depth at this level.
David, Scotland

The time has come for UEFA to seriously consider a tiered system for qualification to the major tournaments. Where is the sport in going to San Marino and trying to hit double figures? It does no good for football at any level. Quality teams are failing to reach the final stages of major competitions because they only score 8 instead of 9 against the lesser countries.

Its a farce and a waste of fixtures in an already cluttered schedule. League action has been suspended across Europe for two weeks so that the fans can see their countries play San Marino, Albania, Finland & Armenia. Wake up UEFA, World Cup qualification is turning into a bizarre side-show.
Trev, UK