Scotland Men's Football Team

Image source, Getty Images

Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic is expecting a tough game against an "aggressive" Scotland side on Friday night.

The Manchester City player has had a good season in the Premier League and is likely to be in the Croatia line-up for the Nations League match at Hampden.

"I've played against Scotland several times and it was never easy," he said.

"They will be aggressive and they are playing at home, and it's never easy to play in Scotland. But we've worked really well this week and we hope to have a good result."

Kovacic picked out a couple of players he knows well from his time in England as Scotland's key men.

"I never like to speak about individual players, but since you ask Scotland are a strong team who fight each other," he added.

"I know Billy Gilmour well from my time at Chelsea, he's really developed in the last couple of years and I'm not surprised he's doing so well.

"He's a big talent and I expect him to improve even more.

"And John McGinn, it's always very difficult for me to play against him. He's a very tough, strong player and he's been paying well for Aston Villa.

"He's back for this game and he will make Scotland much better."

Steve Clarke says Scotland "need to change" their approach to developing young talent if they are ever to match Croatia's tournament success.

Croatia, who face Clarke's side at Hampden in the Nations League on Friday, have a smaller population than Scotland (around 4m compared to 5.5m) but an impressive international record, finishing third at the World Cup in 1998 and 2022 and reaching the 2018 final.

"They've got a system set up right from the young ages all the way through because they seem to have a conveyor belt of talent," said Scotland head coach Clarke.

"They keep bringing players through. They also have a lot of players with longevity at the top level, with over 100 caps or between 75 and 100.

"They've just got the balance right. They produce a lot of good young players and allow them to play a lot of games in their own country before they move out - which is a really good grounding and something we can maybe get better at here.

"And they show a pathway for the young players. There's a lot we need to try and change if we want to get better. We can get to that level - but we still have a lot of work to do.

"At some stage, people have to sit down - a think tank or whatever - and try something a bit different that we haven’t tried before to see if we can improve it.

"If we keep doing what we're doing, it’s not going to get better. We have to try and find a way but the change has to be driven from the top. They have to understand we need to change.

“It's not just the people at the Scottish FA, it's the people that are in charge at the clubs."

A Scottish FA report earlier this year said that clubs in Scotland are failing to bring through enough young players. It added Scottish football is "significantly underachieving its potential" in youth development compared to countries of a similar size.

Clarke said: "I don't think we'll ever go back to the utopia where you've got 16 Scottish players at one club that feed the first team.

"At the moment, you've probably only got two or three that are in and around the fringes at most clubs. Can we get more? Can we get half a dozen? Can we get eight? That's the type of numbers I think we should be looking to get."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Steve Clarke has been speaking to the media before Scotland's Nations League game with Croatia on Friday night.

Here are the key points from the press conference:

• On having key players such as John McGinn back from injury, Clarke says: "It's great, I haven't slept this week with all the different permutations in my head."

• Clarke believes Scotland "deserve more points" given their performances in this campaign, but says his players "have shown they can be competitive at this level".

• Scotland have to find "extra little details" to get results and Clarke adds: "We still have two games to come and still have a chance to stay at this level, which is what want. But we need to turn our performances into points."

• Clarke says says his side will have to defend well as they did against Portugal in their last game. He wants Scotland to be better with the ball, have more possession and improve upon creating chances.

• The Scotland boss notes Croatia are organised and a threat going forward. On Luka Modric, he says they have "one little magician in midfield who can run a game if you allow him to. I don’t think we did that in Croatia and I hope we won’t allow him to do it at Hampden."

• On learning from the success of Croatia, Clarke says changes need to be made and "we need more young players playing for their clubs" to enable a "conveyor belt of talent" coming through.

Image source, SNS

Lennon Miller will line up for Scotland Under-19s against Wales today. But should he instead be in Steve Clarke's main squad for the Nations League visit of Croatia on Friday night?

At 18, Miller already has more than 50 club appearances under his belt and is the most exciting young talent at Scottish football right now.

Among those who believe he should be fast-tracked to a full Scotland cap are Sunday Mail chief football writer Scott McDermott.

"He should have been involved in this squad," McDermott told the BBC's Scottish football podcast.

"I just think exposing him to that environment at a young age would have done him the world of good. Just bringing him in, having a look at him, having the other players see him in training as well, letting the boy know himself the standard that he's got to get to.

"There's not many friendly games in international football now so you don't really get many opportunities to blood these guys."

Miller's first-team experience at a tender age is the exception rather than the norm in the current Scottish game. A report by the Scottish FA earlier this year concluded that clubs in Scotland are failing to bring through enough young players.

"I do think it's a cultural problem," said McDermott. "There does seem to be a fear about throwing young players in early.

"I think young players need two things. The first one is a given and that's talent. The second one isn't and that's opportunity. These boys need a chance to play in first teams.

"A few years ago in Motherwell's academy, Miller played alongside Bailey Rice, who is at Rangers currently. If you ask most people, at that time Rice was on a par if not maybe even better than Miller.

"But look at the two of them now, the progress they've made. Rice, who's been in and around the Rangers first team, has never quite had an opportunity. It feels like he's playing catch-up now. So yeah, talent and opportunity."

Assistant boss John Carver says Scotland's spirits were lifted by the draw with "frustrated" Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, and now it is "time for a win" when Steve Clarke's side face Croatia at home and Poland away in the coming days.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Craig Gordon is convinced Hearts and Scotland team-mate Lawrence Shankland will soon be back to his goalscoring best.

Shankland has netted just once for the Edinburgh side in 18 matches this season after hitting 59 across his first two years at Tynecastle.

Despite his barren run, the 29-year-old striker has been recalled to Steve Clarke's Scotland squad for their upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Portugal.

Goalkeeper Gordon, who is expected to start the double-header with Angus Gunn still out injured, said of Shankland: "Everybody knows what a good goalscorer he is and sooner rather than later that will come back.

"I have been training with him over the last few weeks and I can see in training he is giving absolutely everything. At times his touch has been really good and he has been scoring goals in training.

"It just hasn't materialised in matches but I have absolutely no doubt he will be back scoring goals very soon. He is too good a player for that to last for any length of time.

"It's great that he is here and I am sure the goals will be back before too long."

Scotland assistant John Carver also has full faith in the 29-year-old.

"When you're a good player and you’re a goalscorer, eventually that barren spell happens," Carver said.

"We all know what he's about. He's a goalscorer, he gets between the posts, he plays inside the 18-yard box. If he has to play for us or start or come on, that's what we want him to do and we’ll encourage him to do that.

"The good thing is, he's actually getting into those positions to actually try and score goals. It's just not coming off for him now, where it did last season and the season before that.

"So, everybody's in full support of Lawrence. We love him to bits and the players around him understand it."

Image source, SNS

Scotland assistant John Carver was in optimistic mood as he talked to the media in the build-up to Friday's Nations League game with Croatia.

Here are the key points.

• Carver says the return of experienced players like Jack Hendry, John McGinn and Stuart Armstrong is "refreshing" and "encouraging" considering performances have been good without them.

• Che Adams' injury is "a blow" considering the striker came into the last camp full of confidence after making a good start with Torino after his summer transfer.

• Similarly, midfielders Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour were energised by their "fresh start" with Napoli.

• Carver loved to see Cristiano Ronaldo, "one of the world's best footballers... coming off in a huff" after Scotland's draw with Portugal last time out.

• He says Scotland "were close to getting something in Croatia as well" in the 2-1 defeat prior to that.

• Croatia are "a top side" but Scotland will not approach the game with any "fear" as they caused them problems last time.

• Carver thinks Scotland have shown they are narrowing the gap with the top teams and just need to take the next step and record a win.

• Although Scotland are bottom of their group, Carver believes two wins in their final two games would give them the chance to finish second if other results go their way.

Image source, SNS

Bologna and Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson, 25, has revealed that being released by Rangers, for whom father Derek and uncle Barry had played, at the age of 14 still hurts and helps motivate him to push for more success. (Record), external

Scotland winger Ben Doak admitted he is "loving" his time on loan to Middlesbrough from Liverpool after the 18-year-old winger provided two assists in the 5-1 thrashing of Luton Town. (Scotsman - subscription), external

Gianfranco Zola backs old club Napoli to win Serie A with Scotland duo Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay in their ranks. (Sun), external

Everton manager Sean Dyche has thrown down the gauntlet to Nathan Patterson to end the injury woes that have plagued the 23-year-old Scotland right-back since leaving Rangers. (Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke discusses Lawrence Shankland's inclusion in the latest national squad, despite only scoring once for Hearts so far this season.

Image source, SNS

After a scintillating run of form, that included captaining his club in a cup semi-final at just 18 yesterday, some onlookers thought Lennon Miller might have won his maiden Scotland call-up today.

He is certainly on Steve Clarke's radar, but the Scotland head coach explained his decision to allow the teenager "to grow", rather than be called up for the upcoming matches against Croatia and Poland.

"It's good for Lennon, it's good for his club," Clarke said. "He's another young one that everyone wants to hype and push.

"It's important to let young players to grow. Let's just allow Lennon a little bit of space and time to grow."

Clarke spoke similarly about Ben Doak, 18, not all that long ago before calling him up for the Euros squad - which he missed through injury - and the Nations League campaign, in which he has won four caps.

"You want to have as many difficult choices as you can, you want to have as many good players as you can, so the more young players coming through the better it is for everybody in Scotland," Clarke continued.

"It's already been mentioned in one of the reports that came out recently that we don’t produce enough young players, so hopefully we can in the future."

Instead, Miller will remain with the Scotland Under-19s over the international break, as they prepare for three home European Championship qualifiers against Wales, Liechtenstein and France.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Steve Clarke addressed the media after naming his Scotland squad announcement for the upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Poland.

Here's what he had to say:.

• Clarke expressed his glee at recalling players who missed out of the last camp, including "big character" John McGinn.

• He said performances in the previous four Nations League matches have been good, but wants to get more points on the board.

• Clarke referenced Lewis Ferguson's return for Bologna but said in terms of longer term injuries, it’s better for them to get minutes at their club so they are ready to go for the Scotland in March.

• It's a chance to see Cieran Slicker "up close and personal" given he is no longer eligible for under-21s.

• The head coach pointed out "the pathway" from the under-21s to the full squad and highlighted the journey made by Connor Barron, Ben Doak and Tommy Conway.

• Clarke confirmed Che Adams injury - which he sustained at the weekend - will be assessed by his club Torino. He's named four strikers in the squad so no one is on standby.

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson made his return from a six-month injury lay-off in Bologna's 1-0 Serie A win over Lecce.

The 25-year-old suffered a cruciate ligament injury in April that ruled him out of Scotland's Euro 2024 squad.

Ferguson came on for the final few minutes of Bologna's win, helping the Italian club see out their first home victory of the season.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke names his squad on Monday for the final two Nations League games against Croatia and Poland later this month.

Scotland defender Kieran Tierney is nearing a return to fitness at Arsenal. (Record), external

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says Tierney, 27, is "looking sharp". (Herald - subscription), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish gossip