Scotland face Poland in the final match of their Nations League group stage campaign, with Steve Clarke’s side looking to avoid relegation from Group A1.
The Scots secured a home win over Croatia at Hampden Park last week to end their long winless run, thanks to a goal from John McGinn, and that result left them level on points with tonight’s opponents but still at the bottom of the group.
Clarke’s men know that nothing other than a win will do this evening, and they face a Poland side that was beaten 5-1 by Portugal in Porto last week.
However, the Scots know they will need to be better – and more clinical – than they were when these two sides met in September, when a last-minute penalty gave Poland a 3-2 win at Hampden Park.
We’ll have all the latest build-up, news and reaction below:
Scotland face Poland in final Nations League group match, with kick-off at 7.45pm GMT | Live on YouTube
Steve Clarke’s side need to win to avoid automatic relegation from Group A1
Scotland beat Croatia 1-0 last time out, while Poland lost 5-1 against Portugal
Poland XI: Skorupski; Piatowski, Walukiewicz, Kiwior; Kaminski, Szymanski, Moder, Zieliński, Zalewski; Buksa, Świderski.
Scotland XI: Gordon; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; Doak, McTominay, McGinn; Dykes.
18:45 , Chris Wilson
Poland have made SEVEN changes to the side that was demolished against Portugal, though some were forced on them due to injury.
In goal, Łukasz Skorupski replaces Marcin Bulka, while in defence, Jan Bednarek comes out for Sebastian Walukiewicz.
In the midfield five, Bartosz Bereszyński has made way for Jakub Kamiński, while in the central areas, Kacper Urbanski and Taras Romanczuk have been replaced by Sebastian Szymański and Jakub Moder.
Both attackers have been switched out too, with Mateusz Bogusz making way for Adam Buksa and Krzysztof Piątek coming out for Karol Świderski.
18:40 , Chris Wilson
Steve Clarke has made just two changes to the side that beat Croatia last time out. In attack, Tommy Conway makes way for Lyndon Dykes, while goalscorer John McGinn comes in for Ryan Christie on the left wing.
18:35 , Chris Wilson
Poland XI: Skorupski; Piatowski, Walukiewicz, Kiwior; Kaminski, Szymanski, Moder, Zieliński, Zalewski; Buksa, Świderski.
Subs: Bulka, Dragowski, Wieteska, Gurgul, Slisz, Urbański, Bogusz, Puchacz, Kozubal, Kapustka, Marczuk, Piątek.
Scotland XI: Gordon; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; Doak, McTominay, McGinn; Dykes.
Subs: Slicker, Henry, Armstrong, McCrorie, Barron, Conway, Shankland, Taylor, Gauld, Christie, McKenna, Devlin.
18:25 , Chris Wilson
The line-ups should be announced at around 6.30pm GMT, but for now here’s a reminder of the early team news.
Scotland have no new injury concerns after their win over Croatia last week, so expect to see a similar line-up to last time out.
Craig Gordon will likely continue in goal with the same back four, while Billy Gilmour and Kenny McLean likely to anchor midfield.
John McGinn may have earned himself a spot in the starting eleven after his winning goal, though it remains to be seen if he will play deeper or in a more advanced role as he has done for his club recently.
Ben Doak – who assisted McGinn – and Scott McTominay should retain their places on the right and centre of the forward line. Upfront, Middlesbrough’s Tommy Conway will hope he did enough to retain his place, though Lyndon Dykes could make a return.
Poland have a number of injuries within their squad, with Robert Lewandowski currently out alongside Jan Bednarek and Bartosz Bereszynski. In addition, Fenerbahce midfielder Sebastian Szymanski was injured in the warm-up before Friday’s match.
18:20 , Chris Wilson
Clarke also reserved some praise for Ben Doak, who got the assist for John McGinn’s winning goal and provided a solid performance on the right of midfield against Croatia.
“He’s come into the team, he’s shown a really positive attitude, he gives us something different to what we’ve had before,” Clarke said.
“He gets the assist for the goal, could maybe have had a couple more, maybe have scored one himself,” he added.
“He’s a young player we need to protect and look after but realise that he’s good for now and hopefully for a long time in the future.”
It remains to be seen whether Clarke will start Doak in tonight’s must-win game.
18:10 , Chris Wilson
Speaking after his side’s win over Croatia, Steve Clarke said that he is “still a little bit uptight”.
“The first job is to go there and win. We’ll count up the goals and whatever else afterwards.
“Let’s take it one step at a time, it’s been a hell of a long time since we got a win so it’d be nice to get another.
“For me the pressure is not released. I still feel a little bit uptight.
“Just with the nature of the game when it’s so tight going into the end you’re always waiting on that low blow that’s affected us a few times recently.”
“The sending off changed the game,” he conceded, before adding that “this is a group of players that want to be successful”.
“That’s another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don’t concede goals you always have a chance to win the game.”
18:00 , Chris Wilson
This will be the 13th meeting between these two sides, with the first taking place in June 1958. Overall, Scotland have won just two, with Poland winning four and six ending as draws.
In their last meeting in September, Poland ran out 3-2 winners thanks to a last-minute penalty from Nicola Zalewski.
17:50 , Chris Wilson
Poland have lost just two of their 12 meetings with Scotland in all competitions (won four and drawn six), losing friendly matches against them in June 1958 (1-2) and March 2014 (0-1).
Scotland have lost just one of their six away games against Poland in all competitions (won two and drawn three), going down 1-0 in a May 1980 friendly.
17:40 , Chris Wilson
Stick or twist?
Scotland head coach Steve Clarke must decide whether to start with the team that beat Croatia or mix things up.
He has already hinted he is considering resting Ben Doak despite the 19-year-old’s star turn on Friday.
John McGinn came off the bench to net the only goal and is pushing for a recall while Lyndon Dykes is a strong contender to start up front following Tommy Conway’s first start.
Goalkeeper Craig Gordon is hoping to shake off illness, otherwise Robby McCrorie is in line for a debut.
17:30 , Chris Wilson
Calculators at the ready
To finish second, Croatia would have to lose at home to Portugal, who have handed some key players an extra few days off after sealing top position with a 5-1 win over Poland.
But this is where it starts to get complicated. Scotland and Croatia’s head-to-head record is identical, and one-goal wins in each game would leave them level on goal difference.
Scotland would need a two-goal win in either game, or to overtake them on goals scored, or away goals scored.
If all those are level, Scotland would go second courtesy of their away win in Warsaw. Theoretically of course.
17:20 , Chris Wilson
Win or bust
In some ways, the task for Scotland is simple. They need to win to jump above Poland and avoid bottom spot in section A1. Otherwise they head back down to league B.
There is plenty else at stake. Scotland started the month among the third seeds for the World Cup qualifying draw and victory would likely take them into pot two, or even pot one.
They would need to finish second to do that, and would also qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals in the process.
17:10 , Chris Wilson
Steve Clarke felt his Scotland side ended their long wait for a win with arguably their poorest performance of the UEFA Nations League campaign – but were due the break they received from Croatia’s disputed red card.
Croatia looked the more dangerous side until Petar Sucic received a second yellow card in the 44th minute for a lazy studs-up challenge on John Souttar, having earlier been booked for an innocuous foul on Billy Gilmour.
Scotland’s final ball let them down as they tried to force home the numerical advantage and Croatia even had the best second-half chance before substitute John McGinn knocked home the only goal in the 86th minute.
Steve Clarke feels Scotland were ‘due’ after lucky break in win over Croatia
17:00 , Chris Wilson
The match report from last time out…
John McGinn came off the bench to end Scotland’s 10-game run without a competitive victory by firing an 86th-minute winner against 10-man Croatia.
Scotland had struggled to make the most of their numerical advantage after Petar Sucic was sent off in the 44th minute.
Croatia had looked the more threatening side in the first half and still managed to create the best chances after the break before the ball fell for McGinn 12 yards out after the Croatia goalkeeper could only Ben Doak’s ambitious effort into his path.
McGinn keeps Scotland’s Nations League hopes alive with winner against 10-man Croatia
16:50 , Chris Wilson
Scotland were desperately unlucky in the reverse fixture and will be determined to get a result here after positive performances against Croatia and Portugal since September.
Poland 1-1 Scotland.
16:40 , Chris Wilson
Poland XI: Bulka; Piatowski, Walukiewicz, Kawior; Kaminski, Urbański, Romanczuk, Zieliński, Zalewski; Bogusz, Piatek.
Scotland XI: Gordon; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; Doak, McTominay, Christie; Conway.
16:30 , Chris Wilson
Scotland have no new injury concerns after their win over Croatia last week, so expect to see a similar line-up to last time out.
Craig Gordon will likely continue in goal with the same back four, while Billy Gilmour and Kenny McLean likely to anchor midfield.
John McGinn may have earned himself a spot in the starting eleven after his winning goal, though it remains to be seen if he will play deeper or in a more advanced role as he has done for his club recently.
Ben Doak – who assisted McGinn – and Scott McTominay will retain their places on the right and centre of the forward line. Upfront, Middlesbrough’s Tommy Conway will hope he did enough to retain his place, though Lyndon Dykes could make a return.
Poland have a number of injuries within their squad, with Robert Lewandowski currently out alongside Jan Bednarek and Bartosz Bereszynski. In addition, Fenerbahce midfielder Sebastian Szymanski was injured in the warm-up before Friday’s match.
16:20 , Chris Wilson
When is Poland vs Scotland?
The match takes place on Monday 18 November with kick-off set for 7.45pm GMT at the Kazimierz Górski National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland.
Where can I watch the match?
Viaplay holds the rights to all of Scotland’s competitive home and away matches until 2028. They made a last minute deal with ITV to show the Nations League matches against Poland and Portugal but the last two outings have been aired on YouTube channels run by Viaplay and the Scottish Football Association.
Unless another late deal is done the match will only be available online via YouTube, on the Viaplay International channel.
16:10 , Chris Wilson
Scotland travel to Warsaw to face Poland in the final round of fixtures in Nations League Group A1, with Steve Clarke’s side looking to leapfrog their opponents to avoid relegation.
A John McGinn goal gave the Scots a famous win against Croatia last week at Hampden Park, and though they still sit bottom of their group, a win over Poland would mean they avoid relegation at their expense.
Scotland know nothing other than a win will do tonight, with Poland – who lost 5-1 to Portugal last time out – needing just a point to stay above Steve Clarke’s men.
And despite that bruising defeat in Porto, Poland know they have enough to beat the Scots, having won 3-2 with a last-minute at Hampden in September.
16:00 , Chris Wilson
Good afternoon and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s match between Scotland and Poland.
It’s straight-out battle to stay in the Nations League’s ‘A’ league, with Scotland needing a win to leapfrog their opponents in the group.
And we’ll have all the latest build-up, team news and updates here.