Kasper Schmeichel gives raw reaction after Denmark draw sets up Celtic World Cup decider

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Celtic’s players were caught up in some incredible World Cup qualifying drama on Saturday.

Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney thought they had blown their shot at a one-match shootout with Scotland against Denmark, after losing 3-2 to Greece.

But incredibly, it was Kasper Schmeichel’s Denmark who really blew it – failing to get a home win against Belarus that would’ve sent them to the tournament.

So the one-match shootout is on at Hampden on Tuesday, and it would be an almighty failure from the Danes if they lose to Steve Clarke’s side and drop into the play-offs.

Schmeichel was understandably rocked after the game.

Celtic’s Kasper Schmeichel reacts to Denmark draw

Heads were turned throughout Scotland when the Belarusians scored two goals in three minutes to take a sensational lead in Copenhagen.

And despite an equaliser from previous Celtic target Gustav Isaksen, the Danes couldn’t turn it around to qualify for next year’s tournament.

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Many Hoops fans will have little sympathy for Schmeichel, with Scotland now presented with the opportunity to qualify for their first World Cup in 28 years.

If they do on Tuesday, it will be at the expense of the 39-year-old keeper whose contract at Celtic Park expires at the end of the season.

In his reaction to the Belarus draw, he said: “I say it all the time – you should never expect to win a football match, because there are no easy matches.

“It is not easy to win games at this level and you should not underestimate your opponent.

“We had beaten Belarus 6-0 last month and before the game I said in the dressing room that we shouldn’t think it would be easy.

“They also have a skilled coach and some analysts who have seen what went wrong and have been able to come up with a new plan.

“So it’s an incredibly disappointing result.

“I don’t know if I would say we were shaken, but we were supposed to try to reset after their first goal and we didn’t.”

“On the bus ride back to the hotel, we can really think about the game. Then we have to move on, because there is a huge game waiting for us on Tuesday.”

Celtic’s players on international duty

After Saturday’s chaos, Ralston and Tierney could make history with Scotland. Tom Boyd, Darren Jackson and Simon Donnelly were the Celtic players on the plane the last time Scotland made it to the biggest tournament in football.

Benjamin Nygren scored Sweden’s first goal under Graham Potter, but it will be little consolation after a bruising 4-1 defeat to Switzerland.

It was also disastrous for Viljami Sinisalo and Finland on Friday, as they fell to an unlikely home defeat to Malta. A bad weekend for the Scandinavians.

It’s been a better break for Liam Scales and Ireland, who laughed in the face of Cristiano Ronaldo as they kept their play-off dreams alive with a 2-0 win against Portugal.