pot

The benefits of being in pot one are obvious given only the group winners in World Cup qualifying are guaranteed a place at the finals, with the runners-up going into the play-offs.

It means that if the Scots are in pot three they could face a tricky route to a first World Cup in what will be 28 years by the time the tournament rolls around.

France, Spain or England are among the top seeds, and pot two could throw up games with the likes of Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia, Greece or Norway rather than pot three sides such as Finland, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland or Iceland.

They are now just outside the top 24 in Europe, which means they are destined for pot three in the qualifying draw for the World Cup in the Americas in 2026.

They can still, incredibly, scramble a place in pot one and avoid the highest-ranked nations in next year’s qualifiers by squeezing into the top two in their Nations League section alongside Portugal.