International Friendly
Scotland v Poland
Thursday, 24 March, 7.45pm
Hampden Park, Glasgow

Scotland take on Poland on Thursday evening in the first international fixture of 2022, in a match that transcends football.

Last week the Scottish FA announced plans – in partnership with UNICEF – to play Poland in support of UNICEF’s humanitarian response in Ukraine.

For every ticket sold, £10 will be donated to UNICEF UK’s emergency appeal for Ukraine, and supporters will have the opportunity to make an additional donation if they wish during the ticket purchase process, with a special donate button on the web page directing to UNICEF UK’s appeal.

Scotland fans have rushed to back the fixture, with 35,000 tickets sold as of Tuesday evening this week.

The funds raised will support families in Ukraine and those who have been displaced to neighbouring countries, ensuring child health and protection services are sustained and that familiar have clean water and nutritious food.

The match was arranged following FIFA’s decision to postpone the FIFA World Cup Play-Off Semi-Final against Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict, and the cancellation of Poland’s scheduled tie with Russia.

The match will also serve as invaluable preparation for Steve Clarke’s side, as they get ready for the resumption of competitive matches in June this year.

Previous Meetings

The nations have met on ten occasions previously, Poland holding a narrow edge with three wins to Scotland’s two, with the spoils shared on five occasions.

They last met in qualification for EURO 2016, with both home and away fixtures ending 2-2 draws. The last match at Hampden in October 2015 saw Robert Lewandowski effectively end Scotland’s hopes of qualification for EURO 2016, with the prolific striker adding to an early goal with an injury time equaliser that left Gordon Strachan’s side six points off the play-off spot ahead of their final group match.

Scotland captain Andy Robertson has fond memories of playing against Poland, having made his debut for Scotland’s senior side at 19 in a friendly match in Warsaw in 2014.

Pre-match thoughts

Scotland Assistant Coach Steven Naismith: ”In this day and age the circumstances we find ourselves in are surreal. You wouldn’t expect these things to be happening.

“But from the football side of things the preparation will be what it always is. The manager is very forceful in terms of what he expects and how high he wants the standard to be.

“So there is an element of raising awareness and raising money for Ukraine and an outstanding cause. But we have to focus on the football side as well and that’s important from now until June. It’s about giving the boys a refresher course on what’s expected of them.”

Tickets

Tickets will be available to purchase up until kick-off: Scotland Tickets Fans can also choose to make an additional donation to UNICEF when purchasing tickets.

How to follow the match

The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Football and Main Event, beginning at 7pm.

You can also receive live updates via the official @ScotlandNT Twitter account.