Scotland to discover Nations League opponents amid Steve Clarke uncertainty - here is my dream draw

And not even the clash in Athens when these hopes looked to have taken a crashing dive until Belarus stepped in. The one at Hampden in March when Scotland were introduced to a 17-year-old wunderkind called Konstantinos Karetsas before being condemned to relegation.

Last year wasn’t all overhead kicks and goals from the halfway line while finishing top of a qualifying group. The international year started promisingly enough with a 1-0 away victory against Greece in the first leg of a Nations League play-off. Scott McTominay’s penalty secured a win despite Scotland being under the cosh somewhat in the second half. Things unravelled somewhat in the second leg as Greece ran rings around Steve Clarke’s side on the slick Hampden turf to win 3-0 and replace the Scots in League A of the Nations League.

While it might be hard to think of Scotland in any other context than the World Cup just now, Clarke will have to switch his attention to another competition come 5pm UK time in Brussels on Thursday. This is when the 2026/7 Nations League draw takes place.

Making it stranger still for the Scotland manager—who is still very much in logistical planning mode ahead of this summer—is that his own involvement by the time the Nations League comes around next Autumn is far from assured. His deal with the SFA will have already run out. As it stands, Clarke is contracted until the end of the World Cup, whenever that proves to be for Scotland.

He’s very much obligated to attend Thursday evening’s draw ceremony at the Brussels Expo and will be present along with SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell and president Mike Mulraney. The stakes might not feel enormously high compared with Washington D.C. in December but finishing top of their Nations League group would mean Scotland are guaranteed at least a play-off spot for Euro 2028 if they fail to make it there via regulation qualifying. It’s almost difficult for Scotland not to feature in Euro 2028 with two spots reserved for host nations who fail to qualify on the pitch.

The first international break after the World Cup is an inaugural extended window from 29 September - October 6, when the opening four matches of the fifth iteration of the Nations League will be played.

If Clarke is still in place, Scotland will be in action for the first time since he created history by leading the international side out of the group stage of a major tournament and signed a new contract to celebrate. Should Scotland fail to progress, it’s hard to imagine Clarke sticking around. Scotland would then be playing their first games under a new manager, provided one has been recruited by then.

Of course, Clarke might lead Scotland into the knockout round and still decide to quit while on a high. Whatever happens, it’s a quick turnaround following the World Cup. After playing Greece no less than four times last year, being replaced in League A by Ivan Jovanovic’s talented side means Scotland won’t be facing a team often described as the coming side of Europe. They are out of the equation.

Scotland are top seeds in League B along with Hungary, Poland and Israel, meaning these teams are also off the agenda. Again, this is probably welcome in the case of Israel, against whom Scotland always seemed to be pitched for a while. It also eliminates one potential logistical headache of heading to a neutral venue for the away leg.

Scotland will be drawn against one team from each of the other three pots. Among the possibilities from Pot 2 are a familiar opponent in the shape of Ukraine. Again, this would mean a game at a neutral venue due to the ongoing invasion by Russia. Scotland gained promotion to League A in 2022 after a 0-0 draw with Ukraine in Krakow.

Pot 3 includes Republic of Ireland and another old foe in Georgia while Pot 4 has Sweden and Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ireland among the possibilities. Amid all the uncertainty at least Clarke can count on something. Donald Trump won’t be present in Brussels, and neither will the Village People.

My dream Nations League draw

Bosnia & Herzegovina – some way below Scotland in the Fifa rankings at 57, they are one of the few countries against whom Scotland boast a 100 per cent win record – played two, won two.

Basically anyone else apart from Georgia from Pot 3. Let’s say Romania, again currently ten places below Scotland in the rankings at 52.

Again, there’s one we don’t want – Sweden, who find themselves in Pot 4 on account of some bafflingly poor form of late. Northern Ireland would make it very hard at Windsor Park and were deserving victors on their last trip to Hampden in 2024. It’s always good to break new ground, so Kosovo, Uefa’s newest association, might be desirable. As with upcoming games against Ivory Coast, Curacao and then Haiti at the World Cup, Scotland have never played them before.

However, Uefa have decreed that due to political tensions and security reasons, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be drawn in the same group. In that case, it leaves only North Macedonia, currently lying 66 in Fifa rankings.