Scotland will learn their opponents for this year’s UEFA Nations League campaign when the draw takes place at 5pm in Paris this Thursday, 8 February.

Scotland will make their debut in the top tier of the competition this year, where they could be handed glamour ties against the likes of France, Italy and Germany.

The UEFA Nations League has borne fruit for Scotland in the past, with Steve Clarke’s side securing promotion to League A in the competition last time out after topping their group, having previously secured an ultimately successful play-off spot for UEFA EURO 2020 in the inaugural Nations League campaign in 2018.

What’s different this time?

UEFA have expanded the Nations League this year with a new knockout round to be played in March 2025 before the finals are played in June.

This year the League A group winners and runners-up will participate in home-and-away quarter-finals, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the final tournament.

As Scotland are in League A for the first time, they will have an opportunity to qualify for the finals for the first time ever should they finish in the top two of their group this year.

The fourth-placed teams in Leagues A will still be automatically relegated to League B, but now the third-placed team in League A will enter into a two-legged home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off against a second-placed team from League B.

Who could Scotland face?

The draw will place one team from each of the four pots into each of the four League A groups.

Seven of the top ten ranked nations in the world – France, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Croatia – await as possible opponents, while Germany, Switzerland and Denmark are ranked in the top 20.

Steve Clarke’s side will be in Pot 4 for the draw alongside Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Serbia, so cannot be drawn against any of those nations.

Scotland have played the majority of their possible opponents within the last six years, with only Italy and Switzerland not acting as opposition during that time period, though Scotland will face Switzerland this summer at UEFA EURO 2024.

Pot 1: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Netherlands
Pot 2: Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Hungary
Pot 3: Switzerland, Germany, Poland, France
Pot 4: Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Scotland

How can I follow the draw?

The Scotland National Team Twitter account @ScotlandNT will be posting live updates and the draw will be streamed by UEFA on their official channels: UEFA Nations League | UEFA.com