Scotland discover Nations League draw – familiar foes, former winners, Cristiano Ronaldo

Following the draw in Paris on Thursday night, Scotland’s 2024–25 Nations League opponents will be Croatia,

Portugal, and Poland.

After winning League B1 the previous year, Scotland is in League A for the first time since the competition’s

founding. Because of this, Steve Clarke’s team was always going to face formidable opposition. As a result, they were

placed in League A1, along with Croatia, the 2018 World Cup runners-up, Portugal, and the Poles.

c

As Scotland proved when they defeated Serbia on penalties to go to the finals of Euro 2020, the Nations League

provides a play-off route for countries to the World Cup. A new knockout round will now take place in March 2025,

preceding the June championships, as part of this year’s expansion. The only clubs allowed to play in the finals are

those from League A.

For the first time since 1991, England and the Republic of Ireland will compete against each other as home nations.

In Group B2, the English and the Republic face off against Greece and Finland, the winners of the 2004 Euro. Due to

UEFA’s severe travel restrictions, they were able to avoid a lengthy trip to Kazakhstan, as the former Soviet republic

was categorised under Group B3. In their most recent match, England and the Republic faced off in a Euro 92

qualifying match at Wembley, where Niall Quinn’s goal negated Lee Dixon’s first goal. The sides’ most recent

meeting took place in November 2020 in a friendly; crowd unrest forced the cancellation of a friendly match at

Lansdowne Road in 1995.

In Group B4, Wales will play Iceland, Montenegro, and Turkey.

Following the European Championships this summer, the Nations League will begin. Scotland is in a group with Germany, Hungary, and Switzerland at Euro 2024.