The teams are in the tunnel. There's almost more people in there than inside the stadium. There are a lot of empty seats at Hampden...

I know I said I'd get to the possible play-off semi-final opponents later but I can't resist a nibble.

Scotland will be at home on 26 March but we won't find out who they will play until Friday's Uefa draw.

The other semi-final is definitely Norway v Serbia.

Friday's draw will also determine which team has home advantage in the final.

So...

If Hungary qualify tonight, Scotland will meet either Bulgaria or Israel.

If Wales or Slovakia stake a place, it will be Bulgaria, Israel, Romania or Hungary.

We'll revisit this at full-time.

Billy Dodds
Former Scotland striker on Sportsound

John McGinn is Scotland's leading goalscorer in this competition with five.

He joins Robert Lewandowski, Eden Hazard, Christian Eriksen and Georginio Wijnaldum on that number, which is none too shabby company for the Aston Villa midfielder.

However, he's a long way behind the 12 England striker Harry Kane has banged in.

No other Scotland player has managed more than one goal in Group I.

Image source, SNS

Scotland fans may still be smarting after that embarrassing loss in Astana, which has since been renamed Nur-Sultan, but Steve Clarke is having none of the retribution chat.

"For me, football is never about revenge," said the manager. "It is all about the game coming up. What happened before, happened before.

"We want to finish the campaign on a positive for ourselves. We want to finish third in the section which is the best we can do now and that is what we are focusing on. We wanted to produce a big win against one of the two big seeds in the group. We didn't manage to do that so the next best thing for us is to secure the third spot."

After derailing Scotland in spectacular style in round one, Kazakhstan head coach Michal Bilek was on a charm offensive when speaking to reporters in Glasgow on Monday.

"In my eyes Scotland is a very good team, with very good players and good heart," said the former Czech Republic manager.

"Of course we believe Scotland have a chance to play further and qualify to Euro 2020.

"In the first match we played really well. We probably played our best match so far against Scotland. "However, this is a new match, it is new history to write and I believe my players will give it all on the pitch. "We know who is the favourites but we will try to play a good game. It is a pleasure for us that we can still compete for the third place."

Image source, SNS

Manager Steve Clarke says the Scotland players are getting to know him as he prepares for his eighth international.

"I am still adapting," he said at yesterday's media conference. "I am still learning, I am still working on it. I am learning more and more all the time.

"This second game of the two-game period becomes a time when you don't have much time at all on the training pitch so you have to do more in the meeting rooms, more in the videos. A little more classroom work than practical work. So I am learning all the time.

"Slowly but surely you start to get familiarity. The players start to understand me, they maybe see that I am not quite as dour and difficult to get on with as maybe some people imagine."

Image source, SNS

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer on BBC Sportsound

There was a point during that 3-0 loss back in March when Tartan Army fans might have been forgiven for thinking Kazakhstan were actually a pretty tasty side, such was the one-sided nature of the game.

Then Russia turned up in Astana a few days later and strolled to a 4-0 win.

Since humbling Scotland, Kazakhstan have dropped four places in the Fifa standings and have only managed two more wins - both against Group I minnows San Marino.

Image source, SNS

Much as it pains me, I suppose we have to discuss what happened the last time Scotland played Kazakhstan.

The first meeting of the nations quickly turned into a nightmare, with the Group I opener ending in an ignominious 3-0 defeat for Alex McLeish's side in Astana.

It ranks as one of Scotland's most dismal results, with the Kazakhs ranked 117th in the world, and it could have been worse.

Dreadful defending allowed Yuriy Pertsukh and Yan Vorogovskiy to score inside the first 10 minutes. Scott Bain then had to make a terrific save before Baktiyor Zainutdinov added a header early in the second half.

Image source, SNS

Steve Clarke knew he was stepping into a tough gig when he replaced Alex McLeish two games into this campaign.

The hardest games against the top two seeds did not go well, giving Clarke a record of four defeats from five.

But that can improve to a much healthier four wins from eight this evening following a big victory over San Marino in the Glasgow rain and Saturday's 2-1 success in Cyprus.

Image source, SNS

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer on BBC Sportsound

Remember, Scotland are without captain Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and Ryan Fraser, who all pulled out with injuries.

Arsenal also asked for Kieran Tierney to be excused from the original squad despite the left-back starting to play regularly following hip surgery.

"All the ones that have pulled out this time are genuinely injured. It's not like they wanted to be pulled out or didn't want to come," said assistant head coach Alex Dyer last week.

Lawrence Shankland dropped out after the win in Cyprus, to be replaced by Eamonn Brophy, but the Dundee United striker is expected to be fit come Saturday.

Steven Naismith captains Scotland again, just a few days after winning his 50th cap.

The 33-year-old striker has only started twice in the league for Hearts in an injury-interrupted season, so his inclusion may raise a few eyebrows among followers of the Edinburgh side.

He played for 62 minutes in the win over Cyprus before making way for Oli McBurnie.

Runaway Group I leaders Belgium have breezed through qualifying and can make it 10 wins on the spin at home to Cyprus this evening.

Italy are the only other nation to get through with a 100% record.

The Red Devils, who demolished Scotland home and away, sit proudly at the top of the Fifa rankings and will fancy their chances of lifting the trophy at Wembley next summer. It could be the last chance for some of their ridiculously talented generation.

San Marino's sorry goal difference is unlikely to improve at home to Russia.

Image source, SNS

Billy Dodds
Former Scotland striker on Sportsound

Image source, SNS

Willie Miller
Former Scotland defender on BBC Radio Scotland

Manager Steve Clarke sticks with the same XI that started in Saturday's 2-1 win over Cyprus in Nicosia.

It's the first time he's not made changes over the course of four double-headers.

Image source, SNS

The battle for third place - a long, long way behind automatic qualifiers Belgium and Russia - is not much of a selling point on a bitterly cold evening in Glasgow.

It would represent playing to our seeding, if Scotland avoid defeat this evening, and help ensure no further damage is done when it comes to the next draw - for World Cup 2022.

But this is all about building confidence and cohesion for the play-offs and getting a disaffected Tartan Army back on side.

Image source, BBC Sport

Scotland XI: Marshall, Palmer, Gallagher, McKenna, Taylor, Jack, McGregor, Forrest, McGinn, Christie, Naismith.