Scotland to Face Tough Opponents in UEFA Nations League

Scotland has been drawn into Group A1 of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, where they will face tough opponents – Croatia, Portugal, and Poland. The draw took place in Paris, with Steve Clarke‘s side learning their fate.

The UEFA Nations League has expanded this year, introducing a new knockout round scheduled for March 2025, followed by the finals in June. As Scotland secured promotion to League A after topping their group in 2022, they now have the opportunity to qualify for the finals for the first time ever if they finish in the top two of their group this year.

Scotland’s last encounter with Croatia was during EURO 2021, resulting in a 3-1 loss for Clarke’s side. Nonetheless, Scotland enjoyed consecutive victories over Croatia in FIFA World Cup qualifiers in 2013. They won 1-0 in Zagreb, courtesy of Robert Snodgrass’s goal, and triumphed 2-0 at Hampden Park later that year with Snodgrass and Steven Naismith on the scoresheet.

Scotland’s history against Portugal harks back to more than three decades ago and includes a friendly defeat in 2018. Their biggest triumph over Portugal occurred in 1980, with a 4-1 victory featuring goals from Kenny Dalglish, Andy Gray, Steve Archibald, and Archie Gemmill.

Poland is a familiar opponent for Scotland, having faced them in a friendly in March 2022. They also clashed with Poland twice during the UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers, resulting in two 2-2 draws.

Scotland Men’s A Head Coach, Steve Clarke, expressed his thoughts on the tough draw, noting the importance of playing against strong teams to improve. He refrained from making predictions but expects challenging matches for both Scotland and their opponents.

The fixture dates for these matches of the UEFA Nations League will be confirmed in the near future.