Article body analysed

Watch Off The Ball Mc Ginn forces in only goal late on after Doak shot saved Croatia's Petar Sucic sent off before break for two yellow cards - Modric booked for protests and will miss next game Victory in Poland on Monday will earn relegation play-off place Colin Moffat Portugal 3-0 Poland And a third for Portugal. Bruno Fernandes this time. Goal difference doesn't really matter, though. It'll be head-to-head that splits the teams in the final table. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Ryan Gauld looks very comfortable out there, which makes you wonder why it's taken so long to get him involved. Tenacious work from the Vancouver midfielder opens up a chance for Andy Robertson to cross but the delivery is shocking, ballooned right behind the goal. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Nikola Vlasic is on for Croatia, taking over from Martin Baturina. Portugal 2-0 Poland Portugal have scored a second, Cristiano Ronaldo converting a penalty. That's good news for Scotland, because it should mean that a win in Poland on Monday would give Steve Clarke's side a second chance at avoiding relegation from League A through the play-offs in the spring. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Leanne Crichton Former Scotland international on Sportsound It's a huge let-off for Scotland after a wonderful pass from Luka Modric. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Willie Miller Former Scotland defender on Sportsound He's got to score. It's a gilt-edged chance for him. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Marco Pasalic squanders a great chance for Croatia as he runs on to a lovely lofted pass from Luka Modric and shrugs off Anthony Ralston, only to poke his shot just wide. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Now it's a collective gulp of anxiety as Croatia break from the corner but Scotland get enough bodies back to snuff out the danger. Scotland 0-0 Croatia A roar of encouragement as Scotland work their way down the left and John Mc Ginn forces a corner. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Willie Miller Former Scotland defender on Sportsound The chances are being created, I think that's what they've got to hold on to. There's still plenty of time left. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Billy Gilmour with another shot high into the night sky after a great burst and cut-back from Ben Doak. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Substitutes John Mc Ginn and Ryan Gauld link up and the latter's cross is volleyed wide at the back post by Ben Doak. The angle was very tight. Out in Porto, Rafael Leao has put the hosts 1-0 up against Poland. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Lyndon Dykes, John Mc Ginn and Ryan Gauld are on for Scotland. Tommy Conway, Ryan Christie and Kenny Mc Lean make way. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Mario Pasalic and Ivan Perisic are on for Croatia. Two very handy replacements. .. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Josko Gvardiol likes a goal for Manchester City and he has a crack here, with John Souttar doing well to track his run and make the block. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Croatia doing a good job of keeping possession with 10 men as a gaggle of substitutes gather on the sidelines. Scotland 0-0 Croatia A deflected shot from Martin Baturina loops wide, with Craig Gordon watching it all the way. Scotland 0-0 Croatia Jane Lewis BBC Sport Scotland at Hampden Steve Clarke and his assistant John Carver are deep in conversation. Changes to come? Scotland 0-0 Croatia Leanne Crichton Former Scotland international on Sportsound It's the worst bit of decision-making I've ever seen from Billy Gilmour. Ben Doak was in acres of space, in on goal - that could have been 1-0 Scotland. Dogged Scotland earned their first Nations League victory and ended their long winless run as substitute John Mc Ginn's late goal finally overcame 10-man Croatia. The talismanic midfielder seized upon a loose ball after Dominik Kotarski's parried a Ben Doak shot to send Hampden into belated uproar with his 19th goal for his country. The victory offers Scotland hope of retaining their Nations League A status, with a relegation play-off in the spring the prize if they can win in Poland on Monday. Steve Clarke's side badly needed a victory after failing to win their previous 10 competitive matches and having done so only once in their last 16 overall. Recent performances had offered some encouragement against quality opposition but the Scots were utterly dominated in the opening stages by the impressive Croats. Part of the issue was self-inflicted errors. Kenny Mc Lean gifted Andrej Kramaric a chance; Luka Sucic spurned another; then Kramaric’s shot to the near post bounced wide after scraping off Craig Gordon’s studs. That was all within the opening 10 minutes. All the latest Scotland national team news Croatia were in total control but the narrative changed when Orel Grinfeeld produced a second yellow card for, what seemed, a nothing challenge by Petar Sucic on John Souttar. That was the key moment. Croatia were furious, Scotland regrouped at the break, and the complexion of the contest turned on its head and paved the way for this long-awaited win. Suddenly, Scotland were the dominant side and Doak became increasingly influential. Billy Gilmour should have played in the teenager in acres of space in front of goal but blazed over instead. The Napoli midfielder did so again shortly afterwards from Doak's pull back. Doak himself diverted a back-post volley just off target from a teasing Ryan Gauld cross. Croatia remained a sporadic threat. Substitute Mario Pasalic got in from Modric's wonderful ball and ought to have scored, but dinked it just past a post. It was a huge let off. And it was punished as Doak got to the bye-line and flashed a shot at goal. Kotarski flapped it towards Mc Ginn, who was the hero once more. Scotland looked for the second goal that would have given them the head-to-head advantage over Croatia, but instead will have to shoot for third place in the section rather than seal an always-unlikely top-two spot. We'll never know what might have happened had the red card not been shown but Scotland won't care. This vindicates the hard times Scotland have had to endure in this campaign and, while they were handed a huge slice of fortune, they still had to deliver. That said, Clarke's side were being taught a lesson in the opening half. Croatia seized the initiative and Scotland repeatedly made mistakes. Time and time again, players in blue turned over possession far too easily. Often, in the most dangerous of areas. They were riding their luck way too often. The sending off changed everything and all that was lacking was a little quality or composure as they tried to stretch their opponents and get in. Performances have, at times, offered optimism but the reality is a win here offered the unlikely hope of rescuing this Nations League campaign. The reaction of the Hampden crowd at full-time said it all. Scotland can still earn a relegation play-off but must deliver again in Poland on Monday. Croatia will undoubtedly be furious, despite this result ensuring they will finish second in this Nations League group. They knew the importance of this tie from their own perspective and started superbly, creating three excellent chances in the opening stages. Normally, sides of that quality are ruthless. Thankfully, for Scotland, not so here. They were toying with Scotland, entirely controlling the play and guess who was central? The 39-year-old Luka Modric. The red card infuriated the Croats but they still had the nous to run Scotland close and almost emerge with a point. Last Updated 15th November 2024 at 21: 56 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Steve Clarke Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Zlatko Dalic Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Steve Clarke Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 Manager: Zlatko Dalic Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 UEFA Nations League All competitions All competitions All competitions Scotland went unbeaten across their first five meetings with Croatia (W2 D3) but have lost their most recent two games against the Croats, including last month in Zagreb (1-2). Croatia have never won away in Scotland (D2 L1), with this their first trip to Hampden Park since October 2013, losing 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Scotland are both on their longest ever winless run at home (6 games – D3 L3) and longest run without a victory in competitive fixtures (10 games - D4 L6); they could also now level their longest overall winless run, set in 1998 (9 games – D3 L5 currently). Only Greece (9) have won more games across the last two editions of the UEFA Nations League than Croatia (W7 D3 L2), who only won two of their 10 matches in the competition prior (D1 L7). Bosnia (73), Serbia (72) and Israel (69) are the only League A nations to face more shots in this season’s UEFA Nations League than Scotland (67), though after a 0-0 draw with Portugal last time out the Scots could keep back-to-back clean sheets for the first time since September 2023. Croatia have scored in each of their last 14 away games (29 goals), since blanking in three consecutive such matches between March and September 2021 – their previous longest streak was an 11-game run ending in September 2004. 19-year-old Ben Doak could make his fifth appearance for Scotland with his previous four all coming in the UEFA Nations League; only Paul Mc Stay (6) and Willie Henderson (5) have made as many as five appearances in competitive fixtures as a teenager for the Tartan Army previously. Croatia’s Ivan Perisic has been directly involved in three goals in his last two appearances against Scotland (1 goal, 2 assists), although he hasn’t ever scored in 18 appearances in the UEFA Nations League. © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.