Hampden roared as Scotland produced one of their best performances of recent times to move to the top of Nations League Group B1 with two games to go. Steve Clarke's men now just require two draws from their final fixtures against Ireland on Saturday followed by the second part of their Ukraine double header.
It's a great position to be in as that drubbing by Stephen Kenny's Boys in Green in Dublin back in the summer was banished. Clarke's men were outstanding against a team who turned Scotland over in the World Cup playoff semi-final in June.
Oleksandr Petrakov's men will be looking for revenge when the nations meet again in Krakow next week, with Ukraine having to play their home games in a neutral venue with their country ravaged by the invasion of neighbours Russia. But if Scotland can see this one out and top their Nations League group then it will have huge benefits. Here, Record Sport looks at the three big boosts.
Promotion to Group A
This would be the first benefit and ensure some glamour games against the cream of the continent. It would be a chance for Steve Clarke’s men to pit their wits against the big boys and for the SFA marketing team a chance to cash in on some mouthwatering fixtures against the likes of Holland, Germany, England, Spain and France. And, of course, being the top group would offer an opportunity to actually win the trophy in the summer of 2025 with the four group winners going into the semi-finals. And it would underline the progress made after starting out the inaugural Nations League back in 2018/19 in Group C when we topped the group featuring Israel and Albania.
Euro 2024 play off
The most important factor. We all know how valuable this can be after ending more than two decades to reach an international tournament through the exact same route. Alex McLeish secured a playoff place for Euro 2020 by winning that Nations League Group C four years ago but wasn’t around to feel the benefit of it after a horror start to the conventional qualifying campaign for the tournament.
However, Steve Clarke was grateful for McLeish’s work and a semi-final win over Israel before that epic, historic night against Serbia in Belgrade finally saw us back in with the big boys. The 12 highest-placed teams in the Nations League who do not reach Germany 2024 through the European Championship qualifying campaign will be awarded a place in the playoffs. That means three sets of one-legged semi-finals and a final to fill the remaining three spots at the Euros. As vital as this is to have, Clarke will be hoping not to have to rely on it.
Pot Two for Euro 2024 qualifying
This would be a huge benefit for Scotland as it would see them avoid some potential big guns. The fact Scotland required a playoff to reach their first major tournament in two decades shows how difficult we have found the conventional qualifying method. The draw takes place in Frankfurt next month and UEFA confirmed the 53 remaining nations - Germany qualify as hosts while Russia have been banned - will be placed in two groups of either five or six teams, with the top two qualifying automatically. The seeding groups will be determined by the final Nations League standings but victory should see Scotland in Pot 2 and that could even mean avoiding England and France who could also be second seeds.
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