UEFA Nations League Scotland versus Croatia kick off 19:45 Fri 15 Nov 2024

Scott McTominay joined Serie A club Napoli for £25.7m in August

Nations League: Scotland v Croatia

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Friday, 15 November Time: 19:45 GMT

Coverage: Listen live on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Scotland and follow live updates on the BBC Sport website & app

Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay says he has had Diego Maradona "in his head and his heart" as he has made an instant impact at Napoli.

The 27-year-old joined the Serie A club, where Maradona is a legend after guiding them to the Italian title in 1990, from Manchester United this summer.

He has scored twice and assisted once in the league and been an integral part of Antonio Conte's side irrespective of the formation the former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea manager uses.

"Maradona is obviously the most iconic footballer to ever play the game," said McTominay during his media conference before Friday's Nations League game against Croatia.

"When I walked into the stadium, it was a surreal feeling knowing he's an icon of the game and an absolute legend of football. The people absolutely adore him for the things he did in Naples."

McTominay says he and fellow Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour - who moved to Naples from Brighton - are "trying their best" to learn the language and are "picking up things as we go along in terms of phrases".

And he has no doubts the move to Italy from his boyhood club has been a good one and that while "it's not easy going abroad, it's been quite seamless".

"It was obviously a big decision," said McTominay. "There's no denying that. But you just have to say 'do I want to do it and go for it?' There's no looking back.

"I've never had any regrets in my life or my career and I'll continue that way."

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke admires McTominay for the way he has flourished in Italy.

"It helps us if we have players going to top leagues abroad, especially if they have the impact Scott's had in Italy," Clarke said.

"To hit the ground running in Serie A isn't always easy - a lot of players struggle to find their feet because it's different to the Premier League, more tactical.

"He's been a great player for me over the last five years - it doesn’t matter where I've played him, even out of position at centre-back."

'We have shown we can be competitive'

Clarke says his team selection for the game against Croatia has been giving him "sleepless nights" after a number of key players returned from injury.

John McGinn is among those in contention for the game at Hampden Park - where Clarke is eager to see an improvement in possession from his side.

"I've got so many permutations going through my head, it's brilliant. Good choices again," he said.

"Against the top sides you have to defend well. But we have to do a little bit better with the ball. We didn't quite get enough possession against Portugal.

"With the little bit of possession that we did get, we showed we can create some chances. So that's what we have to improve."

Scotland, who lost 2-1 in Zagreb last month, are bottom of group one in the top tier of the Nations League A with only last month's point against Portugal to show from four games.

They are on their longest winless run at home - six games, losing three - and their longest run without a victory in competitive fixtures (10 games, losing six), but Clarke believes the campaign has shown they have the tools to take on the best.

"We've shown we can be competitive at this level. We have to find the extra little details that turn these performances into results," he added.

"A win would certainly be good. From the performances we've had, we deserve more points than we've got.

"But we've got two games and still a chance to be really competitive in this group and stay at that level, which is what we all want."

What they said

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke

"Croatia are a good team. They're always well organised and they're a threat going forward.

"They have a little magician in midfield [Luka Modric] who can run a game if you allow him to. We didn't allow it in Croatia and hopefully we won't allow it at Hampden."

Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic

"We're expecting tough game. It'll be a full stadium and Scotland will have a lot of ambition and energy for this game. Scotland still have ambitions in the group. We will need to be smart and patience and we want to achieve a result that will qualify us for the Nations League.

"We have respect for the Scotland team. They deserve more from all the games they've played in for far in this Nations League. They are a very good team, so we're expecting a tough game."

Match stats

• Scotland have lost their latest two meetings with Croatia - including 2-1 in Zagreb last month - after being unbeaten in their first five games against them.

• Croatia beat Scotland 3-1 on their last trip to Hampden, when the stadium hosted a Euro 2020 game, but have never won an official away game in Scotland, drawing two before losing 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in 2013.

• Scotland are on their longest winless run at home (six games, losing three) and longest run without a victory in competitive fixtures (10 games, losing six).

• Scotland could equal their longest overall winless run, set in 1998 (nine games – D3 L5 currently).

• Only Greece (with nine) have won more games across the last two editions of the Nations League than Croatia (W7 D3 L2).

• Bosnia (73), Serbia (72) and Israel (69) are the only League A nations to face more goal attempts in this season's Nations League than Scotland (67).

• Croatia have scored in each of their last 14 away games (29 goals) - the longest run in their history.

• Ben Doak could make his fifth appearance for Scotland, with only Paul McStay (six) and Willie Henderson (five) making more appearances as a teenager than the 19-year-old winger.

• Croatia midfielder Ivan Perisic has been directly involved in three goals in his last two appearances against Scotland (one goal, two assists) but has not scored in 18 Nations League appearances.