UEFA Nations League A Group 1
Scotland v Poland
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Thursday, 5 September 2024, kick-off 7.45pm
Scotland kick off their UEFA Nations League campaign tonight when they welcome Poland to Hampden Park for their first match in the top tier of the competition.
After winning their Nations League group in 2022 Scotland earned promotion to League A, where they will mix with the top nations in their group comprising of Croatia, Portugal as well as tonight’s opponents.
Steve Clarke’s side will be hoping to put their recent record behind them and earn their second win of 2024 in front of a near-capacity crowd at the national stadium.
Previous Meetings
The record between the two nations is relatively well balanced, with Poland holding a slight edge.
Scotland are looking for their first ever home victory over Poland in tonight’s fixture. In 11 meetings between the two nations spanning 66 years there have been six draws and three wins for the Poles, while Scotland’s two victories came in Warsaw.
The first match between the sides was a friendly on 1 June 1958 in the Stadion Dziesiecjolecia, where a double from Bobby Collins earned Scotland a 2-1 win.
Scotland’s other victory came in 2014, when a Scott Brown drive gave Gordon Strachan’s side the bragging rights in a friendly match in the Stadion Narodowy, a game in which that Scotland captain Andy Robertson made his senior international debut.
The most recent meeting between the sides came in 2022, in a match that acted as a UNICEF fundraising for Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
The friendly match had been arranged following the postponement of Scotland’s World Cup semi-final play-off tie against Ukraine, with £10 from each ticket purchased being donated, ultimately raising £500,000 for the cause.
On the field, Kieran Tierney’s first goal for his country looked like it would earn Scotland their seventh consecutive win before a controversial 94th minute penalty salvaged a draw for Poland.
Team News
Steve Clarke has freshened up his squad following this summer’s EURO 2024 finals, with Ben Doak, Max Johnston, Lyndon Dykes, Ryan Gauld and John Souttar all added.
Robby McCrorie, Greg Taylor, James Forrest and Ché Adams have all been forced to withdraw due to injury having been named in the initial squad.
Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken has been called up for the first time in place of McCrorie, while Connor Barron and Josh Doig have both been drafted in from the Scotland Under-21s squad.
Vancouver Whitecaps playmaker Gauld will be aiming to make his Scotland debut ten years on from his only previous call-up, while Middlesborough winger Doak will also be hoping to make an impact having been forced to withdraw from the preliminary squad for UEFA EURO 2024 earlier this summer due to injury.
Pre-Match Thoughts
Scotland Head Coach Steve Clarke: "We knew coming out of the other side of the tournament there would need to be a little bit of freshness in the squad.
"I didn’t envisage so many injury issues, so many call-offs but that’s given us a freshness that’s maybe more than it would have been had I had everybody fit and available, but it’s still a nice freshness.
"For the young boys that have come into the squad, they’ve brought that enthusiasm, that breath of fresh air that galvanises and gives the senior players that little bit more life. It’s been a good couple of days, but we want to make it better."
Where to watch
The game will be shown live on ITV4 and ITVX from 7.30pm.