Scotland's World Cup qualification hopes hang by a thread after Brazil defeat

Reaching the last 32 of the World Cup is out of Scotland's hands after they suffered a 3-0 defeat by Brazil in their final group-stage game.

Scotland fans will now be clinging on to hopes of progressing as one of the eight best third-placed sides.

It means they may need to wait until Sunday to find out whether they will reach the knockouts for the first time.

With a potentially agonising few days on the way, BBC Sport guides you through what to look out for and how Scotland could still make it.

By this point, you have probably heard a lot about how finishing third could still get you through.

Of the 12 teams who finish third in their group, eight will progress.

If teams in the third-place standings finish level on points, the rankings are then decided by goal difference.

That means Scotland will need to hope that at least four do not manage to reach three points, or they do so with a worse goal difference than them.

As it stands, there are five third-placed teams ranked below Scotland, and five who have the same number of points. Four of those five still have a game to play

Losing 3-0 means Steve Clarke's men's goal difference took a blow, with them now sitting on -3.

According to Opta, teams with three points and a -3 goal difference only had a 42% chance of making the last 32, while it's 63% for -2 and 84% for -1.

Scotland's chances fell further with South Africa's surprise win over South Korea, who dropped into third on three points with better goal difference.

There are nine groups left to play, and Scotland need four teams to be worse than them.

It means they need a minimum of four of the following scenarios to play out:

THURDSAY

Group E: Both Ecuador (v Germany) and Curacao (v Ivory Coast) to fail to win.

Or Curacao to get a victory by at least four goals and Ecuador fail to win.

Group F: Sweden to lose to Japan by four or more goals.

Group D: Paraguay and Australia are on three points and play each other, a draw would send both through.

Scotland need Paraguay to lose by two or more goals, or Australia to be beaten by at least four goals.

FRIDAY

Group F: Senegal and Iraq to draw.

Or Iraq to beat Senegal by no more than two goals.

Group H: Uruguay to lose to Spain.

Group G: Iran to lose to Egypt.

SATURDAY

Group L: Croatia to lose to Ghana by at least three goals.

Group K: DR Congo v Uzbekistan to be a draw.

Or Uzbekistan to win by no more than three goals.

Group J: This is a carbon copy of Group D, with Austria and Algeria on three points and a draw would send both through.

Scotland need Algeria to lose by two or more goals, or Austria to be beaten by at least four goals.