Scotland vs Greece LIVE: Steve Clarke’s facet bid to keep away from relegation in Nations League play-off
Scotland hope to avoid Nations League relegation and remain in League A when they take on Greece for the second leg of their play-off tie today.
Should they lose they will drop down into League B but avoiding defeat will make sure they remain in the Nations League top flight and face stronger opposition for the next campaign.
Scott McTominay’s first-half penalty in Piraeus ensured the Scots bring a one-goal advantage into this match at Hampden Park after they earned a valuable win away from home last Thursday.
Steve Clarke’s men weathered plenty of attacks from the Greeks and they’ll face a similar situation in this afternoon’s encounter though home advantage will play a key role in how they perform. Clarke has insisted that his players will not rest on their lead and will aim to win.
“It’s a game that we want to win,” the head coach said. “Obviously we’ve got the one-goal lead from the first leg, but we’re going to set up and try and win the game and hopefully set a marker down for the World Cup games coming up.”
Follow all the latest updates with our live blog below:
Scotland vs Greece LIVE
We’re just 10 minutes from kick-off here, and the atmosphere is starting to build at Hampden Park.
Both teams will be in the tunnel soon enough.
Kick-off fast approaching
Just 15 minutes until kick-off at Hampden Park in what is a crucial outing for Scotland’s Nations League aspirations.
Steve Clarke’s side go into the second leg with the advantage after Scott McTominay’s first-half penalty and a remarkable second-half defensive stand earned them a valuable away win in Athens on Thursday.
Scotland are looking to maintain their status in League A, while Greece will seek promotion from League B.
All the action, coming up next. Don’t go anywhere.
Anthony Gordon pulls out of England squad with ‘worrying’ injury
Across the Scottish border, there’s worries for England and Newcastle.
Anthony Gordon has been forced to withdraw from the England squad through injury ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Latvia.
The winger has returned to his club side Newcastle United after picking up a hip problem when he came on as a substitute during the 2-0 win over Albania on Friday evening.
The 24-year-old only entered the fray on 74 minutes but suffered what appeared to be a hip problem during his 15 minutes of play, which saw him limp off down the tunnel at the final whistle.
Bumper day of Nations League action
Scotland’s clash with Greece is only the start of a bumper day of action in the Nations League this Sunday.
In two other notable play-offs, the Republic of Ireland face Bulgaria while Belgium play host to Ukraine, with both Ireland and Belgium returning to home soil with advantages from the away legs.
But it’s in the Nations League quarter-finals where the big hitters come to play.
There are two major heavyweight clashes as Germany take on Italy, while the Netherlands travel to Spain – a tie that hangs in the balance after playing out a 2-2 draw in the first leg.
France also take on Croatia in a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final, while Portugal host Denmark. Both Croatia and Denmark are on course to pull off an upset win over their respective opponents after emerging victorious at home in midweek.
How things fared in the first leg
The Napoli midfielder netted a penalty he had won in the 33rd minute of the first leg and the Scots spurned a couple of other chances before the break.
An impressive performance began to flounder in the second half when 17-year-old Genk-born attacker Konstantinos Karetsas came on to make his debut for the home side, after making the switch from Belgium, for whom he had played at various youth levels.
Steve Clarke’s side withstood relentless pressure from the Greeks who hit the woodwork, although keeper Craig Gordon was not called upon to make too many saves.
The full match report from Athens:
Greece team news
Greece boss Ivan Jovanovic has made six changes to the side that lost 1-0 in the first leg.
At full-back, Lazaros Rota and Kostas Tsimikas are replaced by Georgios Vagiannidis and Dimitris Giannoulis, while in central midfield, Emmanouil Siopis and Petros Mantalos go out in favour of Christos Mouzakitis and Christos Zafeiris.
In attack, Giorgos Masouras drops out for Konstantinos Karetsas, while Vangelis Pavlidis leads the line as he starts over Fotis Ioannidis.
Greece line-up
Greece XI: Tzolakis, Vagiannidis, Mavropanos, Koulierakis, Giannoulis; Mouzakitis, Zafeiris; Konstantelias, Karetsas, Tzolis; Pavlidis.
Subs: Vlachodimos, Mandas, Retsos, Masouras, Pelkas, Rota, Fountas, Ioannidis, Chatzidiakos, Mantalos, Tsimikas, Galanopalous.
Team news
Scotland boss Steve Clarke has made just one change to the side that beat Greece in the first leg on Thursday.
Ryan Christie comes in to replace Lewis Ferguson, with the Bournemouth man staying on the left wing.
Che Adams leads the line again, with Scott McTominay in the attacking midfield role.
