Key occasions
Right here’s how A1 stands after the primary spherical of matches. Scotland will go to Croatia and host Portugal throughout the October break; in November they’ll welcome Croatia to Hampden earlier than travelling to Poland.
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Poland P1 W1 D0 L0 F3 A2 Pts 3
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Portugal P1 W1 D0 L0 F2 A1 Pts 3
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Scotland P1 W0 D0 L1 F2 A3 Pts 0
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Croatia P1 W0 D0 L1 F1 A2 Pts 0
Scotland have misplaced 4 of their final 5 video games towards Portugal to the combination tune of 12-2. The opposite assembly ended goalless. Their final victory over the Portuguese got here in March 1980, Andy Grey, Kenny Dalglish, Steve Archibald and Archie Gemmill scoring the objectives in a 4-1 Hampden rout. Right here’s what occurred the final time everybody met …
Group information: Scots unchanged, Ronaldo benched
Scotland decide the identical XI that began the Poland recreation. The general public cry out for extra Ben Doak and Ryan Gauld however Steve Clarke, ever the showman, retains ‘em wanting extra.
Portugal in the meantime make 4 adjustments to their staff within the wake of their 2-1 victory over Croatia. Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Dalot get some relaxation on the bench, whereas Vitinha and Gonçalo Bernardo Inácio miss out altogether; Nélson Semedo, António Silva, João Palhinha and Diogo Jota step up.
The groups
Portugal: Costa, Semedo, Dias, Silva, Palhinha, Fernandes, Silva, Leão, Mendes, Neto, Jota.
Scotland: Gunn, Ralston, Hanley, McKenna, Robertson, Gilmour, McLean, Christie, McTominay, McGinn, Dykes.
Referee: Maurizio Mariani (Italy).
Preamble
Properly, Thursday night time didn’t pan out within the best method … although if nothing else occasions faithfully adhered to conventional character-driven narrative construction: a courageous efficiency, flashes of hope, a twist of the knife on the very finish. And so now, having misplaced what was on paper their best fixture in League A1, Scotland are just about behind the eight-ball from the get-go. Tonight the duty stage shifts from best to hardest: away to Portugal, the eighth-best aspect on the earth, and one whose line is led by a person who has scored 131 worldwide objectives. God pace, Steve. Good luck, gents. Kick-off is at 7.45pm BST. It’s on!
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