Scotland managed to qualify for the quarter-finals at the last minute and relegate Poland
Drama in Portugal’s other group game: Captain Andrew Robertson secured Scotland’s 90+3′ victory to send an uninspired Poland side into League B
Scotland won 2-1 in Poland to avoid a last-place finish in Group A1 of the UEFA Nations League . In an exciting encounter, Steve Clarke’s side avoided relegation to League B with a header from Andrew Robertson in the 90+3′ minute. John McGinn and Kamil Piatkowski (what a goal) scored the other goals of the match.
Playing with the enthusiasm that came from a hopeful victory against Croatia in the penultimate round of the Nations League, Scotland took to the field with confidence and thanks to that attitude they scored in the 3rd minute: a great pass from Billy Gilmour , finding Ben Doak between the lines and the young forward passed to John McGinn , who invaded the area very well and shot into the goal, driving the noisy Scots present in Warsaw crazy.
Scotland were the more dangerous team in the first half: the midfield of Kenny McLean , Gilmour and Scott McTominay controlled the pace of the game and, as a result, the Scots could even complain of bad luck before the break. Gilmour shot first against Skorupski ‘s bar (34′), prompting boos from the Polish fans for their own team. Just before half-time, McTominay shot across goal (42’) and hit the post.
Michal Probierz’s team were more incisive in the 2nd half and equalised in the 59th minute: centre-back Kamil Piatkowski collected the ball near the edge of the area, kicked it with his right foot and scored a stunning goal, giving Craig Gordon no chance to save it .
The game then became even more evenly divided, with Scotland fighting to stay in League A while still dreaming of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Nations League. However, with Croatia drawing with Portugal, the Scots could only fight for third place.
An objective that they finally achieved in the 90+3′ minute: John Souttar made an excellent cross into the area, where the little Robertson appeared to jump higher than everyone else and, with an unstoppable header, secure the Scottish triumph.
Scotland therefore finishes in 3rd place in Group A1 and will now play a play-off for survival against one of the runners-up in League B. Poland will be automatically relegated after finishing bottom of the group.
