National anthems time.

The Polish lads are fairly belting it out.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke tells BBC Radio Scotland: "You don’t have the tension, adrenaline that comes with a World Cup play-off match. It’s a little bit more relaxed. They have to take that onto the pitch and make sure they perform well because we want to continue the momentum we’ve got.

"The team I've picked tonight, I've got one eye on the competitive fixtures in June.

"Craig Gordon has been great, still going strong at 40 years old. He could play for longer if he wants. He keeps himself fit, his performances in training are top class. He had that break in the middle of his career when he had injuries. He is making up for lost time."

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Scott Mullen
BBC Scotland at Hampden

A round of applause ripples around Hampden Park as the lights drop and the stadium is almost in darkness, leaving 15 blue and yellow poles illuminating the centre circle.

It's a stirring moment and a reminder of why both teams are here.

Steve Clarke is an old hand at international management now.

Having started in May 2019, this will be his 32nd match in charge of Scotland.

His record so far is 15 wins, seven draws, nine defeats.

Talking yesterday, he said: "It's about trying to pick up where we left off last November.

"We want to find that feelgood factor and continuity we had."

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Paulo Sousa had been in charge of Poland since the start of last year, but the Portuguese coach jumped at an offer from Brazilian giants Flamengo in late December.

That means Czeslaw Michniewicz takes charge for the first time tonight.

Michniewicz, 52, has led the national under-21 side in the past and won the league with Legia Warsaw in season 2020-21, having done the same with Zaglebie Lubin in 2006-07.

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Scott Mullen
BBC Scotland at Hampden

The disco lights are on...

Scotland amassed a very respectable 23 points from 10 games, losing just once, to finish behind Denmark.

Poland made it to 20 points, six shy of England's total, and their campaign ended on a bit of downer with a home defeat to Hungary.

There are five uncapped players on the home bench this evening; goalkeepers Liam Kelly and Zander Clark, along with Craig Halkett, Ross Stewart and Aaron Hickey.

The latter trio are involved in the squad for the first time.

With up to six subs permitted, there's every chance we might see a debut or two.

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Scott Mullen
BBC Scotland at Hampden

A sell out at Hampden under the lights. A place at the World Cup in the balance. Tonight should have been so different for Scotland.

Thursday 24 March was the date with destiny marked in tartan calendars from Dunnet to Dumfries. However, instead of a play-off semi, this evening is instead a night of importance for different reasons.

It may be Poland providing the opposition but Ukraine, Scotland's initial opponents, are not far from the hearts or minds of the capacity crowd currently swarming on Glasgow's south side. Every ticket sold for tonight's game will see £10 go towards Unicef's cause in Ukraine following Russia's invasion.

Let's also not forget that the minds of the Tartan Army may wander to Cardiff, as the Welsh take on Austria for the right to, fingers crossed, play Steve Clarke's side in that World Cup play-off final at some point.

Nothing may be on the line for the Scots tonight, but a sense of significance is in the air around Hampden Park.

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Draws have been popular results in this fixture, with the spoils shared five times in 10 previous meetings.

Poland have the edge with three wins to two, with both of Scotland's successes coming in friendlies away from home.

Two of Poland's victories have been at Hampden.

Robert Lewandowski has played at Hampden once before and, of course, he scored. Twice. To snuff out Scotland's chances of reaching Euro 2016.

Both matches between the nations in that campaign ended in 2-2 draws and this is the first meeting since Lewandowski's 90th-minute heartbreaker in Glasgow.

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With a World Cup play-off final to come on Tuesday, Poland are not risking captain Robert Lewandowski from the start.

The 33-year-old Bayern Munich star is his nation's record scorer with 74 goals in 128 appearances.

At the weekend he scored twice to take his season's tally for club and country to 50 goals.

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny also gets a rest, with Bologna's Lukasz Skorupski wearing the gloves for his sixth cap, having made his international debut in 2012.

Scotland captain Andy Robertson is missing after a bout of Covid, while fellow defenders John Souttar and Liam Cooper are also out after injury troubles.

There are four changes from November's 2-0 win over Denmark, with Nathan Patterson preferred to Stephen O'Donnell at right wing-back despite a glaring lack of action at Everton.

Celtic's Greg Taylor will patrol the left, while Grant Hanley and Scott McTominay return to the back three.

John McGinn takes on the skipper's armband in the absence of Robertson.

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Aston Villa team-mates John McGinn and Matty Cash catch up out on the Hampden pitch.

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Remember, Steve Clarke's men took four points from Austria in qualifying, winning in Vienna.

It was the result that really turned the campaign round and was the second fixture in a run of six successive victories that earned Scotland the runners-up spot behind Denmark.

A rousing Hampden win over the group winners was the perfect way to sign off but that 2-0 success against the Danes in mid-November seems like a long time ago now.

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Scotland's match with Ukraine has been pencilled in for June, but the other game in their play-off path goes ahead in Cardiff tonight as Wales and Austria go head-to-head for the right to host a final.

Who do Scotland fans want to win that one?

Thumbs up for Wales, thumbs down for Austria.

Like Scotland, Poland were meant to be in play-off action this evening. However, with opponents Russia thrown out of the qualifying process, they were given a bye into a final next week with either Sweden or Czech Republic, who meet in Stockholm this evening.

Scotland: Gordon, McTominay, Hanley, Tierney; Patterson, Gilmour, McGregor, Taylor; Christie, McGinn; Adams.

Substitutes: Clark, Kelly, O'Donnell, Stewart, Hendry, Halkett, Jack, Armstrong, Hickey, Brown, Ferguson, McLean.

Poland: Skorupski, Bednarek, Glik, Salamon, Reca, Krychowiak, Zurkowski, Cash; Zielnski, Milik, Moder.

Substitutes: Szczensy, Dragowski, Wieteska, Lewandowski, Grosicki, Kun, Bielik, Szymanski, Beresszynski, Kaminski, Buksa, Piatek.

With Scotland's World Cup play-off semi-final against Ukraine postponed, Poland visit Hampden for a fundraising friendly.

The match has been planned in partnership with Unicef, in support of the charity's humanitarian response in Ukraine.

Today, Unicef announced that 4.3 million of an estimated 7.5 million children have now been displaced as a result of Russia's invasion.

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