Croatia v Scotland LIVE: Nations League result and final score as Scots suffer more late heartbreak

The home side get us underway in Zagreb.

Just five minutes until kick-off at the Stadion Maksimir. Will Scotland get their first win of the new Nations League campaign tonight?

Croatia have won six of their last eight games in the Nations League, drawing one and losing one. This run comes after they won just two of their first 12 matches in the competition.

Croatia have won each of their last three home matches across all competitions and are aiming to win four such games in a row for the first time since October 2020.

Mateo Kovacic could make his 107th appearance for Croatia, moving him ahead of Ivan Rakitic into fifth for most appearances; two of the four players above him also played in Croatia’s 1-0 win against Poland last time out (Luka Modric on 180 and Ivan Perisic on 136).

Scotland are unbeaten in their two previous away trips to face Croatia, drawing 1-1 in October 2000 and winning 1-0 in June 2013 thanks to a goal from Robert Snodgrass.

Scotland are winless in their last eight competitive matches though, having drawn three and lost five. This is the longest winless streak in their history.

The Scots could lose four games in a row for the first time since October 2019.

Scott McTominay has scored 11 goals for Scotland all in competitive fixtures. Only three players have scored more for the nation in competitive fixtures – Robert Hamilton (15/15 between 1899 and 1911), Robert McColl (13 in 13 between 1896 and 1908) and Andy Wilson (13 from 13 between 1920 and 1923).

These two sides have met just six times before, with Scotland winning two and losing one. The other three matches ended as draws.

The most recent meeting came at Euro 2020, when Scotland fell to a 3-1 loss.

Here’s a reminder of how you can watch today’s game. The match kicks off at 5pm BST (UK time), and it is not being shown on TV but is available to stream on YouTube.

The rights to Scotland’s Nations League matches is currently held by ViaPlay, but the Norwegian broadcaster stripped back its operations in the UK last year.

Therefore, Croatia vs Scotland will only be available to watch on the Viaplay International YouTube channel, and the stream will only go live at 4:50pm.

The only British representative in League A this time around is Scotland, but Steve’s Clarke’s side need a good break to avoid the prospect of immediate relegation. They’ve lost two from two in Group A1 and have a host of injuries to contend with ahead of matches against Croatia and Portugal.

Finishing last in the four-nation groups means going straight down, while third faces a relegation playoff now - but the Scots have won just once in over a year now, spanning 14 games.

The Nations League takes centre stage once more this week as the international break returns and countries across the continent enter competitive matches once more, of a fashion at least.

While Uefa’s newest international adventure still divides opinion - and seriousness in team selections, perhaps - this season’s version does come with the usual backup qualifying spots for the next major international men’s tournament, in this case the 2026 World Cup.

In practice that means the four best group winners from the Nations League who don’t finish in the top two in World Cup qualifying groups will earn another shot at reaching USA, Mexico and Canada, by way of the playoffs. Here’s where England, the home nations and the rest of the major nations stand as we head into match rounds three and four.

Some news from the other UK teams in the Nations League...

Craig Bellamy remained upbeat after Wales surrendered a two-goal interval lead to draw their Nations League tie in Iceland.

Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson rewarded some incisive first-half approach play to put Wales in command on a freezing night in Reykjavik. But Wales were hanging on at the end after Logi Tomasson scored and then forced Danny Ward into an unfortunate own goal at his near post inside three second-half minutes.

Orri Oskarsson smashed the crossbar from 20 yards and Jon Thorsteinsson struck a post as Wales rather fortuitously extended their unbeaten Nations League start to three games with a 2-2 draw.

It would be hard not to feel for Steve Clarke, as the beleaguered Scotland manager leant back in his chair and looked up at the board of absentees in his office. Of the 30 to 40 players considered for selection, the list contained an entire line-up of injured players, a sidelined XI. And this is ahead of two matches against top-level opposition in Croatia and Portugal, all while Scotland are in the midst of their longest winless run in their history.

It’s not a rosy picture. Clarke’s assistant, John Carver, admitted Scotland “might have to suffer” some more in the Nations League, with promotion to League A coinciding with a tough run of luck and a dire loss of form following a difficult summer at Euro 2024. Scotland certainly suffered late heartbreak last month against Poland at Hampden and Portugal in Lisbon, conceding the losing goals in the 96th and 87th minute respectively.