Scotland beat Poland in Warsaw on Monday to keep their hopes of remaining in the Nations League top tier alive.

The national team narrowly missed out on a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament after Croatia drew with Portugal in Split to remain just one point ahead of Steve Clarke’s men.

Goals from John McGinn, his 20th at international level, and Andy Robertson, in his 80th appearance for his country, secured all three points and a third place in Group 1.

This means they avoid automatic relegation and hold playoffs against Greece, Austria, Turkey or Ukraine to stay in League A.

Their performance in the Nations League also has implications for Scotland’s pot in the World Cup qualifying draw.

The largest international football tournament will take place across North America with matches played in the United States, Mexico and Canada in the summer of 2026.

Had Scotland finished ahead of Croatia in the group, they would have jumped into Pot 1 for qualifying, avoiding the top 12 teams including Spain, France and England.

When that failed, they had to wait until Tuesday night’s matches to see if they would end up in Pot 2 for the December draw.

However, Slovakia’s 1-0 win over Estonia and the Czech Republic’s 2-1 victory over Georgia mean Clarke’s men are relegated to Pot 3.

It represents a major blow to the country’s chances of reaching its first World Cup in 26 years, with the last participation in the tournament dating back to 1998, when it was held in France.

League of Nations

After gaining promotion to the Nations League top tier for the first time last year, Scotland knew they would face it in a tough group.

After a bruising campaign at the European Championships in Germany over the summer, it took some time for the national team to find their rhythm again.

However, despite back-to-back defeats in their first three group matches, they managed to fight back and give themselves hope of reaching the latter stages before progressing to the final match.

They were denied a point by an injury-time penalty in a 3-2 defeat to Poland at Hampden in their opening match before losing to another late goal in a 2 -1 in Portugal.

A 2-1 defeat to Croatia followed, and it looked likely that they would be relegated to League B.

But they stopped the rot with a credible 0-0 draw against the Portuguese in Glasgow before beating Croatia 1-0 at home to give themselves a fighting chance going into the final game.

The campaign ended with a victory in Warsaw which allowed them to move ahead of Poland in the group and avoid automatic relegation, but it was not enough to recover Croatia, who finished with a point advances to second place.

Final standings of League A, Group 1

1. Portugal (Qualified for the quarter-finals)
2. Croatia (Qualified for the quarter-finals)
3. Scotland (relegation qualifiers)
4. Croatia (relegated to League B)

Relegation Playoffs: Who can Scotland play and when will the draw take place?

Scotland now face a two-legged relegation playoff match in March, with the second leg being played at Hampden.

They will face Greece, Ukraine, Austria or Turkey. The winner will play in League A in the next Nations League campaign, and the loser will play in League B.

The draw for the relegation playoff matches will take place on Friday.

Staying in League A for the next campaign will likely increase Scotland’s chances of reaching the European Championships, which will be held across the UK in 2028.

However, the details of how this will affect qualification for the tournament have yet to be finalized.

World Cup qualifying: Scotland’s road to North America

Scotland suffered a major blow to their World Cup qualification chances by narrowly missing out on being in Pot 1 or Pot 2.

They will now be in Pot 3, which means they are guaranteed to be in a group with two teams ranked higher than them, one from Pot 1 and one from Pot 2.

The best teams in the world, such as Spain, England, France and Germany, are in pot 1, while Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic are in pot 2.

The draw for the qualifying groups will take place on Friday December 13.

Scotland will need to win their group to automatically qualify or finish second for a playoff spot.

The tournament itself will take place in Mexico, the United States and Canada in the summer of 2026.

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