Liam Cooper says Monday’s triumph over Denmark has provided Scotland with the benchmark they need to advance through the World Cup play-offs.
Scotland’s excellent 2-0 victory over the Danes at Hampden Park on Monday ensured they will be seeded for next Friday’s play-off draw, meaning they will enjoy home advantage in their single-leg semi-final in March.
The result ended Denmark’s 100% record in Group F, with Scotland finishing the campaign just four points behind the Euro 2020 semi-finalists.
Scotland’s seeding means they will avoid playing the likes of Italy, Portugal and Russia in the semi-finals.
Play-offs here we come.
Get it in your diary!#SCODEN pic.twitter.com/FK7GxiIRFJ
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) November 15, 2021
Leeds United defender Cooper says the Denmark result will give them confidence they can defeat any team they face.
He said: “The lads and the manager have been banging on about beating one of the top sides in the world.
“I think we deserve that, but we had to go and get it. It was a great opportunity, the boys were bang up for it.
“That’s the belief we have got to have. We have found a system that suits us.
“Everyone will agree, if we can play like that in every game in the play-offs we will give ourselves a good chance.
“That’s the target, and that’s the pressure we’ve got to put on ourselves to get the performance to that level.
“It’s going to be difficult, it’s going to be against good opponents. We’ve got to give everything we can, and hopefully we can win the semi at Hampden and who knows where that will take us.”
Defender hails Tartan Army’s influence at Hampden
Cooper was proud of the way his side rallied against a Danish side ranked 10th in the world, insisting the backing of the 49,527 strong Tartan Army played a huge part in the victory.
He added: “It was such an enjoyable night. To score two goals against such a strong Denmark team is unbelievable.
“Credit to the lads, we will celebrate a little bit and then look forward to the play-offs now.
“We set out at the start of the night to get that seeded spot, and we have done it with a great performance against a very strong team.
“Their form speaks for itself. We knew it was going to be tough, and we knew we needed to have 15 or 16 players bang at it, but we definitely got that.
“We were backed by an unbelievable support who stuck with us throughout. We are going to need them in the play-offs.”