Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes

Steve Clarke credited Scotland’s defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.

John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic’s sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.

The result – coupled with Poland’s crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.

While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.

“My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better,” Clarke said.

“We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.

“This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.

“That’s another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don’t concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.

“It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn’t easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It’s nice when we get everybody fit and available.”

The victory was Scotland’s first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.

They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.