"Scotland went on to beat the Dutch 3-2, but were eliminated on goal difference by Peru."
This is incorrect. They were eliminated on goal difference by the Netherlands, Peru won the group.
The Netherlands wanted to avoid qualifying for the group containing Brazil, Argentina and Poland and instead wanted to get into the group with West Germany, Italy and Austria.
If they won the group, they would be in with the South Americans. They had to avoid beating Scotland by more than 2 goals so as not to win the group but also had to ensure they weren't beaten by more than 2 goals or the Scots would put them out.