Joachim Andersen delivered an extraordinary and emotional assessment of Denmark’s late collapse in Glasgow, describing the decisive moments of their defeat to Scotland as “f*****g ridiculous” after his side surrendered automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the dying seconds of extra time.
Denmark had travelled to Hampden Park as Group C leaders and were within touching distance of securing their place at next summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Instead, they departed Scotland stunned and furious after a remarkable finish in which Kieran Tierney and Kenny McLean struck in added time to complete a 4-2 victory and send the Scots through automatically.
Scotland’s triumph marks their first appearance at a men’s World Cup since France 1998.
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For Denmark, the defeat confirmed that they will now drop into the play-offs alongside Italy, Turkey and Ukraine, leaving a side that once looked assured of progression facing a far more precarious route to the finals.
A visibly shaken Andersen spoke to Danish broadcaster TV 2 Sport immediately after the match and struggled to contain his frustration.
The Fulham defender, who has been one of Denmark’s most consistent performers throughout the qualifying campaign, could not hide his disbelief at the manner of the defeat.
Joachim Andersen delivered an extraordinary and emotional assessment of Denmark’s late collapse in Glasgow, describing the decisive moments of their defeat to Scotland as “f*****g ridiculous” after his side surrendered automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the dying seconds of extra time
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“I am incredibly sad,” Andersen said. “The results we have delivered in the last two games are laughable.
“I am just disappointed. I am disappointed. I think we played a good game. They score a freak goal. He will never score a goal like that again in his career.”
The goal in question arrived only minutes into the contest when Scott McTominay stunned the stadium with an overhead kick that Scotland manager Steve Clarke later described as “the best overhead kick I have ever seen”.
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Scott McTominay netted a stunning overhead kick as Scotland beat Denmark
|REUTERS
The moment appeared to rattle the Danes, who soon found themselves embroiled in a tense and chaotic match.
Matters deteriorated further when Rasmus Kristensen was dismissed, a decision Andersen later suggested had fundamentally altered the direction of the game.
“Of course it is difficult when we get the red card,” Andersen said. “And we fall behind and come back. And then we make such stupid mistakes. That should never happen. I do not know what to say. It is just disappointing and f*****g ridiculous.”
For Denmark, the defeat completed a bruising week after a damaging 2-2 draw with Belarus on Saturday.
That match had already jeopardised their top spot in the group and provoked similar frank assessments from within their camp.
After the final whistle in that earlier fixture, goalscorer Gustav Isaksen admitted that Denmark had only themselves to blame.
Scotland have now qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1998
|REUTERS
“It is so disappointing,” he said. “It is a disaster. We give them so many chances, I do not know what we are doing.
“At one one we got nervous and stopped defending altogether.
“Oh it hurts right now. I said at the press conference before the game that if we do not beat Belarus, we do not deserve to go to the World Cup.”
Scotland’s dramatic qualification ensures they can look ahead to the tournament with optimism after years of near misses, while Denmark must regroup quickly.
Their play-off path will be difficult.
The emotional toll of Tuesday’s defeat was evident across the Danish squad and their manager Brian Riemer now faces the challenge of lifting his players for a decisive spring that will determine whether they make it to North America at all.