McLean fires Scotland to World Cup 2026

Norwich skipper Kenny McLean put a season of club frustration to one side as he wrote his name into Scottish football folklore on Tuesday night.

The 33-year-old came off the bench to replace Ben Gannon-Doak inside half an hour of the crucial final World Cup qualifier against Denmark, with his side 1-0 up and needing a win to qualify for North America 2026.

Denmark battled back twice, despite being reduced to 10-men, but Kieran Tierney lashed the hosts 3-2 ahead in stoppage-time.

With the visitors pressing for a last-gasp equaliser, McLean pounced on a loose pass, jinked past the last defender and unleashed a shot from the halfway line which sailed over the back-tracking Kasper Schmeichel and into the net to spark jubilant scenes and secure Scotland's first World Cup qualification in 28 years.

"When [Kenny] hit it, I thought 'what are you doing?!' but when I saw it in flight, I thought 'that's going to go in!'," boss Steve Clarke told BBC Scotland.

The win was just the fourth McLean has appeared in this season, three of those coming with Scotland, with the Canaries struggling in the Championship relegation zone.

He missed City's EFL Cup win at Watford and the Championship success at Portsmouth in August, though his first start of the season came in the 2-0 win at Blackburn on 30 August - City's last victory.

The Hampden Park stunner was his first goal since 10 February 2024 when he scored for Norwich in a 2-2 Championship draw at QPR.

His only two previous goals for Scotland in 53 appearances came in European qualifiers in San Marino in August 2019 and in Norway in June 2023.