Poland v Scotland LIVE: Nations League result as Andy Robertson dramatically rescues Scots from relegation
Poland 1-2 Scotland: The captain’s last-minute header saved the Scots from automatic relegation, with a play-off to come to stay in League A
Andy Robertson’s last-minute goal saved Scotland from automatic Nations League relegation as the captain’s dramatic header earned Steve Clarke’s side a famous 2-1 win against Poland in Warsaw.
Scotland had to win to avoid finishing bottom of League A1, but turned their run of late misfortunate on its head when Robertson arrived at the back post to thump a powerful header into the net.
Having lost their first three matches of the campaign and drawing 0-0 with Portugal, Scotland ended their winless run with a late win over Croatia on Friday before earning back-to-back wins with victory against Poland.
Scotland made the perfect start when John McGinn converted a chance inside just three minutes but Poland’s Kamil Piątkowski arrowed a stunning strike into the top to equalise on 60 minutes.
At one stage, with Portugal beating Croatia in Zagreb, another goal would have lifted Scotland to second place - enough to progress to the quarter-finals and claim a seeded place in World Cup qualifying.
But it finished as a draw in Zagreb, which means Scotland will play a relegation play-off against one of the runners-up from League B in March in a bid to retain their top-tier status.
Match facts
Scotland’s 1-0 win against Croatia last time out in the Nations League ended a 10-game winless run in competitive fixtures (D4 L6).
The Scots have conceded exactly twice in each of their last four competitive away games - they’ve never conceded multiple goals in five consecutively on the road before.
John McGinn’s winner against Croatia last time out was his 19th goal for Scotland – only four players have ever scored more for the Scottish men’s team (Denis Law 30, Kenny Dalglish 30, Hughie Gallacher 23, Lawrie Reilly 23).
Match facts
Poland lost 5-1 against Portugal last time out in the Nations League, their biggest defeat in all competitions in over two years (1-6 v Belgium in June 2022).
They haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 10 matches in all competitions, conceding at least three goals in each of their last three (11 in total).
Nicola Zalewski - who scored the winner against Scotland in the reverse fixture – has scored the joint-most goals (2) and had the most touches in the opposition box (16) of any Poland player in this season’s UEFA Nations League campaign.
Probierz: “told the players that you have to take it on the chest, not hang your heads, not hide"
Under-fire Poland manager Michal Probierz said that “football life is like a whirlpool” after his side’s heavy loss to Portugal.
“I told the players that you have to take it on the chest, not hang your heads, not hide,” Probierz added.
“I have been a coach for over 20 years, but such a combination of circumstances happens very rarely. In the first half we controlled the match, we had our chances.”
Poland have not won a match since their victory over Scotland in September.
Talking points
Poland under pressure
Head coach Michal Probierz came under fire after defeat in Porto took their goals against column to 14 in five games.
There were other issues as well including two players being criticised for posing for photos with Cristiano Ronaldo after the heavy defeat, goalkeeper Marcin Bulka being quizzed about wearing the wrong shorts, and the administrative blunder that prevented Karol Swiderski entering the field after getting stripped for action on the subs’ bench.
The Poles will be without injured talisman Robert Lewandowski and will need to come out fighting to avoid being subsumed by the negativity.
Team news
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.
Team news
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.
Line-ups
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.
Team news
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.
Clarke on Doak
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.
Clarke: “The first job is to go there and win"
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.”
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