Greece vs Scotland

A place in the UEFA Nations League’s top division is on the line as Greece and Scotland meet in the first leg of their playoff tie at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.

Greece nearly sealed automatic top-flight promotion, only for a dismal 3-0 home defeat to England on the penultimate matchday to condemn them to a second-place finish in Group B3 by virtue of an inferior H2H record. However, the Greeks bounced back from that fiasco with a standout 2-0 away win against Finland, posting their fifth victory in six internationals under Ivan Jovanovic. They could still secure a maiden League A promotion with a win in this tie, and an all-important first-leg advantage could be crucial. Greece should be well-positioned to hold up their end of the bargain, considering they’ve only ever lost two Nations League outings on home soil (W8, D2), notably keeping nine clean sheets across those matches.

On the other hand, Scotland defied expectations to avoid a bottom-place finish in a highly competitive Group A1. Indeed, the Tartan Army recovered from a three-game losing start by picking up all seven points in their last three matches (W2, D1) to pip Poland to a third-place finish behind Portugal and Croatia. Steve Clarke’s side will be out to avenge Scotland’s 1-0 loss on their only previous visit to Greece in 1994 and post back-to-back away wins for only the second time in the four-year Nations League history (W4, D1, L6). Breaking the deadlock wouldn’t guarantee success, as half of Scotland’s away losses in this competition saw them score the opening goal.