UEFA Nations League A Group 1
Croatia v Scotland
Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb
Saturday, 12 October 2024, kick-off 5pm (UK)
Scotland begin the next round of their UEFA Nations League top tier journey with a trip to Zagreb to take on 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia.
After opening the campaign with two narrow one-goal defeats to higher ranked opponents Poland and Portugal in September, Scotland will be aiming to pick up their first points in the group.
Despite a significant injury list with which to contend, Steve Clarke and his players will be looking for the match to serve as an opportunity to start building momentum for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign next year.
Previous Meetings
Scotland enjoy a positive record against Croatia, with two wins, three draws and only one loss in the six previous occasions the nations have met.
The Stadion Maksimir was a fruitful hunting ground for Scotland on their solitary previous fixture played at the stadium back in 2013. That evening Gordon Strachan led his side to a morale-boosting victory, Robert Snodgrass scoring the only goal of the World Cup qualification match.
The last time the sides met was at Hampden Park in the group stage of UEFA EURO 2020. Croatia came out on top that day, running out 3-1 victors to end Scotland’s hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages of the tournament.
Team News
The Scotland squad has a number of new faces in it that will be hoping to have made enough of an impression in training this week to be given their opportunity to represent their nation.
Nicky Devlin, Andy Irving, Liam Lindsay and Jack MacKenzie have all been called up for the first time, while Kevin Nisbet will be hoping to add to his 11 caps after being added to the squad this week.
Regulars Angus Gunn, Lawrence Shankland and Greg Taylor have been forced to withdraw from the squad, while James Forrest has not travelled to Croatia after returning to his club to have his fitness assessed.
After being recalled to the squad, veteran Craig Gordon would move up to joint fifth place in the all-time Scotland caps rankings, level with Paul McStay, if he were to win his 76th cap tonight.
Pre-Match Thoughts
Following last month’s fixtures, Scotland Assistant Coach John Carver is optimistic about the nation’s performances.
"I think you can see what we're trying to do. There’s a clear identity, how we are going to play in and out of possession. We continue with that and you'd like to think results will come.
"We can take so much encouragement from our last two performances. Nobody expected us to perform the way we did in Lisbon. We should have got at least a draw.
"People thought we were in for a drubbing but we were in the game. We didn't sit back, we had a go at them."
"We are in a difficult Nations League group but that's because of the success we have had, getting promoted.
"We might have to suffer now but I guarantee we will be better in the long term for this.
"We know this is an important competition but we have the World Cup draw coming round in December and all of our planning is towards that.
"We might take a bit of pain and hurt but we are looking to the future.”
Where to watch
The match will be streamed free-to-air for viewers in Scotland live with commentary on ViaPlay’s international YouTube, while the Scotland National Team YouTube channel will also stream ViaPlay’s broadcast.