After beating Greece last time out, where Scotland were poor in that game, there were similar signs again with a sluggish start at Hampden Park.
Belarus looked tidy in possession and had a flurry of corners to try and find an early breakthrough, but Pavel Zabelin missed the best chance when he headed over.
That sparked some life into the hosts, and they opened the scoring after 17 minutes. Che Adams showed outstanding skill to take Jack Hendry’s pass on the edge of the area before turning and thumping it home, but it took a VAR review to overrule the offside flag and award the goal.
Instead of lighting a fire under Steve Clark’s side, the hosts retreated into their shell as the visitors looked sharp in possession and caused problems on the counter.
Ultimately, they couldn’t find a leveller before the interval, meaning Scotland finally broke a run of 10 home games without leading at HT.
The second half continued in a similar fashion, and Scotland were given a warning just after the hour mark when Yevgeny Malashevich caught Andy Robertson napping to nip in and tap home at the far post, but the hosts were bailed out by a VAR review which found a foul on Scott McTominay in the build-up.
A nearby ending appeared to be in store, but McTominay stepped up to seal the win with six minutes to go. A Robertson cross found the Napoli star unmarked in the area, and he was able to find the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
Gleb Kuchko pulled one back for Belarus in the closing moments, making it 2-1 and at least getting his side on the scoresheet after McTominay’s late strike.
The defeat leaves Belarus anchored to the foot of the group after four straight losses, while Scotland move three points clear at the top, with Denmark and Greece due to meet later.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Scott McTominay (Scotland)
