Scotland boost World Cup chances; England crowd 'silent' as Wales beaten - reaction

'We worked hard in the bad moments'

Scotland 3-1 Greece

Scotland boss Steve Clarke was under no illusions that his side weren't at their best for large parts of Thursday's win against Greece but believes his players made up for it with their work ethic.

For 63 minutes it looked like there was going to be only one winner at Hampden Park before three late goals turned the game on its head.

Speaking after the game, Clarke praised the team for digging in during the "bad moments" on the night.

Rice bossed it - How they rated

Alex Howell

BBC Sport football reporter at Wembley Stadium

Declan Rice: Captain for the night and lived up to the honour. Bossed the midfield with his running power and dictated the game with his passing. His corners and free-kicks were always quality. 8

Elliot Anderson: Continues to make the number six position his own. Plays with maturity but still only 22. Has a real chance to become a key part of the England team. 7

Morgan Rogers: A favourite of Tuchel and one of the big options as a number 10. A great moment for him to score his first England goal and his powerful running caused Wales problems throughout the match. 8

Bukayo Saka: The Arsenal winger was a constant threat on the right wing - just as he is for his club. He scored the goal of the match with a real moment of quality when he cut in on his left foot and curled a shot into the top corner. 8

Anthony Gordon: Started the match on the left wing and was then moved to striker after Ollie Watkins was withdrawn. He played with his usual energy and pace and contributed to a solid win. 7

Ollie Watkins: A goal for Watkins. He hasn't played much under Tuchel but the Villa front man took his chance when it came and is the clear backup for captain Harry Kane. But missed another good opportunity and a collision with a post led to injury and a half-time withdrawal. 7

Guehi's first choice - How they rated

Alex Howell

BBC Sport football reporter at Wembley Stadium

Jordan Pickford: A history-making night for the keeper as he broke the record he shared with Gordon Banks for the number of consecutive clean sheets, which now stands at eight. Made a smart save to deny David Brooks, but didn't have much more to trouble him. 6

Ezri Konsa: The Aston Villa defender was moved to right-back as John Stones came into the centre and the absence of the injured Reece James. Konsa looked solid as he has done in the past when playing in that position for England and offered an attacking outlet. Not tested defensively. 6

John Stones: His first match under Thomas Tuchel since he became England manager. Stones stepped into midfield to start attacks and it was an extremely comfortable return to international football after his injury troubles. 6

Marc Guehi: The Crystal Palace defender was his usual composed self at centre-back. Produced a great piece of play to keep the ball in and set up Morgan Rogers for his opening goal. Guehi must be a first-choice defender for England. 7

Djed Spence: Not anything of note to deal with defensively on his first start for England. A good outlet in attack and continues to be a versatile asset. 6

'The result maybe flatters us but we did enough to win'

Scotland 3-1 Greece

Scotland

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke speaking to BBC Scotland: "On the performance side of it, you have to understand how hard we worked out of possession.

"When they scored the goal, the shackles came off a bit and from there we finished the game strong.

"The Greeks had a lot of the ball first half but they weren't carving us open.

"Football is a 90-minute game and you have to make sure you come out of it with a positive result. 3-1 maybe flatters us, but we did enough to win the game.

"It gives us three points and takes us one step closer to what we want to do."

'No easy way back for Bellingham as Rogers vindicates Tuchel's strategy'

FT: England 3-0 Wales

Phil McNulty

BBC Sport chief football writer

Thomas Tuchel may have expressed public displeasure with England's fans after the emphatic Wembley win against Wales, but the performance of his players will have left him feeling only the warm glow of vindication.

Tuchel delivered a highly-critical and unusually blunt verdict from any coach in the direction of his own "silent" supporters after a 3-0 stroll was effectively wrapped up inside the first 20 minutes.

It was, however, another message delivered by the German manager that will carry wider significance as England gather momentum towards next summer's World Cup.

Tuchel's words stretched way beyond the shockwaves that greeted Jude Bellingham's exclusion when he named his latest England squad.

He made it crystal clear that England's star system was over, that players in possession could cement their places by sheer weight of performances, the biggest names no longer guaranteed an automatic recall.

England victory in the Wembley friendly must be placed in the context of Welsh opponents with eyes seemingly fixed on their vital World Cup qualifier against Belgium on Monday, but this was still a night with a large measure of satisfaction for Tuchel's strategy.

Tuchel made it clear he is picking an England team, not individuals. He even stated: "We are not collecting the most talented players. We are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no-one else."

Rogers, on the evidence of England's past two games, is fast becoming the poster boy for the new identity Tuchel wants to create.

What happens if Scotland finish second in Group C?

Scotland 3-1 Greece

Scotland

Given the goal difference disparity already - Denmark are already five goals better off - Scotland's fate might well lie in a play-off.

Second in the group still offers a route to the finals, with the 12 runners-up - plus the four best Nations League group winners who failed to finish in the top two of their sections - drawn into four play-off paths.

Each of those will have two one-legged semi-finals - with the seeded team at home - before a final.

Here are the teams currently in second place:

Northern Ireland (level with third-paced Germany after two games)

Kosovo (after two games)

Scotland

Iceland (after two games)

Georgia (level on points with third-placed Turkey after two games)

Armenia (after two games)

Poland (level with third-placed Finland after five games)

Bosnia-Herzegovina (after six games)

Italy (level with third-placed Israel after four games)

Belgium (level with third-placed Wales after four games)

Albania (after five games)

Could Scotland finish top with 10 points?

Scotland 3-1 Greece

It is possible but extremely unlikely, especially when you consider Denmark are already on seven points and have two home games - including one against Belarus - to play.

Scotland, meanwhile, have to go to Greece - albeit to face a side with nothing but pride on the line - before the Danes come to Hampden in the finale.

We can use the Champions League as a case study to determine what 10 points might get you. Uefa's premier club competition had the same four-team, six-game format until last season.

A look at all eight sections across the 2023-24 campaign shows 10 points would have been enough to guarantee top spot in just three of those groups.

The encouraging news, however, is that 10 points would have ensured second place in every group.

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