Scotland's World Cup hopes were dealt a serious blow as they were outclassed by a vibrant Denmark in Copenhagen to slip seven points behind the group leaders.

Daniel Wass jumped above Kieran Tierney to head in an early opener, and Scotland's composure deserted them as they let in another 93 seconds later to go 2-0 down after just 15 minutes.

Joakim Maehle played a flick before running off Billy Gilmour to receive Mikkel Damsgaard's pass and finish through the legs of Craig Gordon as Steve Clarke's side folded.

Mercifully, the vastly-superior Danes did not add to their advantage but the result leaves Scotland with a nigh-on impossible task of overhauling them, with top spot guaranteeing a place in Qatar next winter, and second place reaching the play-offs.

Scotland have slipped two points behind both Israel and Austria in the race for the runners-up spot, with those two sides meeting in Haifa on Saturday.

At the same time, Clarke's side are hosting Moldova at Hampden, with a critical trip to Austria to come on Tuesday.