Scotland Men's Football Team

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Steve Clarke's Scotland will face Greece, Belarus, and the loser of the Nations League quarter-final tie between Portugal and Denmark in March.

Here's how the Scots have fared in previous meetings against those four nations.

Portugal

Scotland have faced Portugal 17 times over the years, winning four, drawing four and losing nine.

Clarke's side played Portugal home and away in the recent Nations League. Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal earned the Portuguese a 2-1 win in Lisbon in September, before a battling performance at Hampden helped Scotland play out a goalless draw in October.

Roberto Martínez's side are currently sixth in the Fifa rankings, and their best World Cup finish was in 1966, where they beat the Soviet Union in a third-place play-off.

Denmark

Scotland have won 11 of their 18 matches against Denmark, with there yet to be a draw.

The nations most recently played each other during the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Denmark won 2-0 in Copenhagen, before goals from John Souttar and Che Adams earned Scotland a 2-0 win at Hampden.

The Danes are 21st in the Fifa rankings, and their best World Cup finish was in 1998, when they reached the quarter-finals.

Greece

Scotland have only ever played Greece twice, but will meet them four times next year.

The Scots won 1-0 and lost 1-0 against Greece during Euro 96 qualifying, as Craig Brown's side reached the finals in England.

Clarke's side face Greece home and away in their two-legged Nations League play-off next March, as they attempt to retain their top-level status in the competition.

Greece are 39th in Fifa's rankings, and their best World Cup finish was a last-16 spot in 2014.

Belarus

Scotland have played Belarus on four previous occasions.

The Scots won home and away during the 1998 World Cup qualifiers, and also played the Belarussians in 2006 World Cup qualifying, when a goalless draw in Belarus was followed by a 1-0 win for the visitors at Hampden Park.

Belarus have never qualified for a World Cup finals and are ranked 98th in the Fifa rankings.

Scotland have been drawn with Portugal or Denmark as well as Greece and Belarus in Group C of 2026 World Cup qualifying.

The group winner progresses to the 2026 finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with the runner-up entering the play-offs, which will feature semi-finals and finals.

The loser of Portugal and Denmark's two-legged Nations League A quarter-final in March will be in Scotland's section.

Steve Clarke's side also face the Greeks in the Nations League play-offs in March, with a place in division A on the line.

With the Scots aiming to reach a World Cup for the first time since 1998, what do you make of the draw? Are you confident of Scotland's chances?

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Rangers are still in pole position to sign 29-year-old Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland, who is out of contract with Heart of Midlothian next summer, when the transfer window opens in January. (Football Insider), external

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has told BBC Scotland he is desperate to see 27-year-old Scotland left-back Greg Taylor end speculation over his future with the club by signing a new contract beyond the summer. (The Herald On Sunday), external

Aston Villa fans have been raving on social media about Scotland midfielder John McGinn's performance in Saturday's win over Southampton, saying it was their captain's best of the season. (The Boot Room), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Liverpool are keeping tabs on the progress of both Fulham's Antonee Robinson and Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez as they line up moves to sign potential replacements for Scotland left-back Andy Robertson. (Football Insider), external

Scottish midfielder Liam Henderson, who provided two assists and scored in a penalty shootout as Empoli overcame Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia this week, will be monitored by a number of clubs and will speak to potential suitors next month with the 28-year-old's current contract set to expire at the end of the season. (The Scotsman), external

Former Real Madrid, Brighton and Scotland Under-21 forward Jack Harper, now playing with Linense in Spain's fourth tier, says he lost more than a year of his career to a mystery auto-immune problem while the 28-year-old was on loan to Alcorcon from Getafe. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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John Carver says his primary focus is on Lechia Gdansk after Steve Clarke's Scotland assistant was appointed head coach of the Polish club.

The 59-year-old will remain part of Clarke's coaching staff for Scotland's Nations League play-off against Greece in March, but says his plan is to rush back to his club side after that international camp.

When asked about how he will balance the two roles, Carver praised the "cooperation" between the SFA and Lechia since he took the role in Poland's top flight.

"The cooperation between Scotland and the club has been very good," Carver said.

"What I will guarantee is this: while I'm here, all my energy will go into this team.

"Back in Scotland we have so many good people working behind the scenes to make sure the preparation is right for that March camp.

"When I do go to Scotland for those 10 days, I know I'm in good hands with the guys who are left behind. I've just met the staff and they've been really impressive. I can trust them, and I have to trust them to make sure the ship is running properly when I'm not here.

"I guarantee I'll be on the earliest flight possible back here to get on with my work."

Carver's deal with Lechia runs until the end of the season, with an option to extend for additional year.

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Former Liverpool midfielder Ray Houghton says he opted to represent the Republic of Ireland because he was "never asked" to play for Scotland after a trial that "didn't go very well".

Glasgow-born Houghton, who won 72 caps for Ireland from 1986-97, had a trial as a teenager when Andy Roxburgh was Scotland boss.

Speaking on the Sacked in the Morning podcast, he said: "I've got to be honest with you, it didn't go very well.

"The manager, a certain Mr Andy Roxburgh, didn't take to the lads from England, to be honest with you.

"There were I think it was five or six, there were two or three lads from Middlesbrough, one from Millwall, a striker, and myself. And he didn't have a clue where we played.

"We were playing in a small game at Largs in the indoor, five-a-side thing. And he said, 'Right, you Anglos get a team together.' So he didn't really endear us to being there.

"And I didn't do particularly well. I did all right. He didn't even know where I played. He just said to me, well, at the last game, go and play on the wing.

"I said, I play in the middle. He went, 'Just go and play on the wing.'

"I did meet him subsequently at Anfield, at the training ground. He said, 'Why didn't you come and play for Scotland?'. I said, 'One, I was never asked. No one ever asked me. You can't go somewhere you are never asked to go.'

"And I said, 'By the way, when I was under 18 and you were the manager, you weren't very engaging towards us'. He was a lovely fellow, I got on great with Andy after that."

Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic will spearhead the efforts of AC Milan as they to try to sign Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson in January, despite the Scotland international signing a new contract extension just last month. (MilanLive.it via Daily Record, external)

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna was "surprised" when opening transfer talks with Manchester United for Scott McTominay after being told the Scotland midfielder was "not an essential player" at Old Trafford. (Tuttomercatoweb, external - in Italian)

Read the rest of Wednesday's Scottish gossip.

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Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay, 27, scored the only goal as Serie A leaders Napoli beat Torino on Sunday, getting the better of international team-mate Che Adams in the hosts' line-up. (Sun), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

A Fifa rule change means Scotland could be drawn in a group of five instead of four and could now face England and Wales in the World Cup qualifying draw. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Arsenal fans who managed to get #WeWantTierney trending on social media after Scotland defender Kieran's return from injury were left disappointed when Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta instead sent on Oleksandr Zinchenko as a replacement for Riccardo Calafiori during their 5-2 trouncing of West Ham United. (Sunday Mail), external

A £2m mansion bought by former Celtic and Scotland midfielder and now Ayr United manager Scott Brown was once owned by former Rangers owner David Murray. (Scottish Sun On Sunday), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Scotland defender Scott McKenna helped Las Palmas to a shock 2-1 La Liga victory over league-leaders Barcelona.

Former Barca striker Sandro fired a low effort across goal to put Las Palmas in front, before Barca captain Raphinha equalised for the hosts with an unstoppable low drive.

Wolves loanee Fabio Silva scored the winner with his fifth league goal of the campaign, slotting into the bottom corner after latching on to Javi Munoz's superb pass.

The result means Las Palmas climb to 14th in the league, while Real Madrid will cut Barcelona's lead at the top to a point if they beat Getafe on Sunday.

Scotland striker Ross Stewart's injury comeback has been further delayed after Southampton head coach Russell Martin confirmed the 28-year-old had suffered another setback. (The Scotsman), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Former Scotland goalkeeper Alan Rough has urged Steve Clarke to make Ben Doak a regular member of the national side.

The Liverpool winger, on loan at Middlesbrough, has shone in Scotland's recent Nations League fixtures.

The 19-year-old provided the assist for the Scots' first goal in their 2-1 win against Poland - a result that secured Steve Clarke's side a Nations League A play-off spot.

"A winger is always exciting and it doesn't matter who it is, somebody's taking on somebody," Rough told the BBC's Sacked in the Morning podcast.

"We had James Forrest there who I thought, at the height of the Euros, would have been a star. But I think Doak definitely is and I think we've got to start playing him.

"I know the manager's saying we should protect him and I think that's quite right but when I went to Georgia there was a guy at 16 playing, there's a guy at another country is 18. If they're good enough just play them."

Aston Villa and Scotland midfielder John McGinn is being hounded by friends and family for tickets for Celtic's Champions League visit to Villa Park later this season. (Sun), external

McGinn admits reports that a transfer to Celtic fell through before he joined Aston Villa in 2018 annoy him, but the 30-year-old adopts a "never say never" approach to joining his boyhood club sometime in the future. (Scottish Football Social Club), external

Rangers are edging closer to the signing of Hearts and Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland, who is out of contract next summer, in the January transfer window, with a possible cut-price deal on the cards. (Football Insider), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

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Scotland winger Ben Doak's performances have made him a marked man, says his Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick. (Herald - subscription), external

Former Inter Milan, Juventus and Lazio player Hernanes praises Napoli and Scotland midfielder Scott McTominay, 27, describing him as "elegant". (Sun), external

McTominay helped Serie A leaders Napoli beat Roma 1-0 on Sunday but fellow Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour was left on the bench. (Scotsman - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

We asked for your thoughts after Scotland were drawn against Greece for their two-legged Nations League play-off.

Here's what you had to say:

John: A tie that could have been easier - or more difficult resulted in mixed blessings. Greece performed well in their league fixtures, but if the Scots maintain a solid defence in the first leg it should be possible to overcome them.

Billy: We did very well against Poland, now we just need to do the same against Greece!

Doug: Greece have improved a lot in recent years but have been absent from tournament football for over a decade now. They lost to Georgia in their previous play-off and Scotland should be confident of getting a result over the two legs. Home advantage in the return game favours us I feel.

Amy: We're at a stage now where teams, even ones like Greece, should be fearing us and not the other way around. It'll be tough, but it's not scary or insurmountable. They were wide open against England and we'd exploit that. Confident of going through with Steve Clarke at the helm.

Scott: Scotland are more than capable of beating these guys home and away.

Angus: Greece will be difficult, having pulled off a win at Wembley, albeit under awful circumstances. But out of all the options, it's the best one.

Scotland must beat Greece in a two-legged play-off in March if they are remain in the top tier of the Nations League.

The nations have only met twice before, each picking up a 1-0 win home apiece in qualifying for Euro 96.

Having finished third in Nations League Group A1 this year, Scotland are seeking to retain their top-flight status while Greece are eyeing promotion after coming second to England on goal difference in Group B2.

The Greeks won five of their six group games - including a 2-1 victory at Wembley - and their only defeats in the past two years have come against England, France, Germany and the Netherlands.

What do you make of Scotland's chances? Can they continue the momentum of their strong finish to the group by seeing off the Greeks to remain among Europe's powerhouses?

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Scotland's John McGinn used the disappointment of not starting against Croatia to drive him on to deliver an "outstanding" display in Poland, says brother Stephen.

The Aston Villa captain returned from injury last month but was named among the substitutes for Friday's Nations League game at Hampden.

Off the bench, the talismanic midfielder came on to score a late winner before netting the opener in the dramatic victory in Warsaw.

The goals took McGinn's Scotland tally to 20, meaning he now ranks in the top five scorers in the men's national team's history.

Speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, brother Stephen said: "One of the biggest things that happens to John when he gets a setback is he comes back stronger than ever.

"I know how disappointed he was not to be starting on Friday night. In football, you don't have any given right to start a game, but it can just light a fire up.

"I think it was his best performance in Poland. I thought he was outstanding. That's the pressure that comes with being super John McGinn, it's nice to see that back."