Scotland v Greece: McTominay can excel in exciting clash | OneFootball

UEFA Nations League

Scott McTominay is a key player for Scotland and Napoli

Scotland are one positive result away from saving their place in the top tier of the Nations League, and Kevin Hatchard believes there'll be goals in their clash with Greece...

Scotland v GreeceSunday, 17:00Live on BBC Two & BBC Scotland

Tartan Army to stay in top tier?

There was a time when Steve Clarke's job as Scotland boss looked to be in danger, despite the fact he has made history by twice leading his nation to the finals of the European Championship. A poor Euro 2024 included just one point and two goals, and that summer failure was part of a long winless run.

However, the SFA kept the faith, and they were right to do so. Scotland were competitive in every game of League A, and the final half of the league phase yielded excellent results. Portugal were kept at arm's length in a goalless draw, Croatia were edged out 1-0 and an excellent and dramatic victory in Poland saw the threat of automatic relegation averted.

Friday's 1-0 victory in Piraeus against Greece represented the latest positive step. The outstanding Scott McTominay - who has been a rock for his country and title-chasing Napoli - converted a penalty to record the only goal of the game.

Then Scotland were able to excel at what Clarke described as "the dirty side of the game." Anthony Ralston did brilliantly to divert a Christos Tzolis shot onto the post, and defenders Grant Hanley and John Souttar were teak-tough. Even though Greece had 24 shots, the visitors' keeper Craig Gordon only had one real save to make.

Indeed, Scotland could have had an even more impressive first-leg victory had they made more of their first-half dominance. However, Clarke insists the tie is far from over.

Clarke is expected to name a similar team to the one that won on Thursday. Bournemouth midfielder Ryan Christie is available again after suspension.

Greeks need near-perfection to progress

When Greece secured a memorable and historic win over England at Wembley in the league phase, their Serbian coach Ivan Jovanovic described it as the perfect performance, and he admits they'll need to hit similar levels of performance to save this tie. Greece endured a frustrating night on Thursday, and they hope their chance of reaching the highest level of the Nations League hasn't already been missed.

It's worth remembering that Greece won all but one of their games in their latest set of Nations League fixtures, with a 3-0 home defeat to England the only exception. Under previous manager Gus Poyet, the Ethniki were just a penalty shoot out away from reaching Euro 2024, only to be denied in agonising fashion by Georgia.

Scotland must be wary of the quality in this Greek team. Although he surprisingly failed to start the first leg, Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis has been superb this term for his club (he netted a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona), and he scored both of Greece's goals in that victory at Wembley.

Winger Giorgios Masouras had looked sharp recently for German club Bochum, while 17-year-old starlet Constantinos Karetsas produced a lively cameo in Thursday's second half. However, Greece are still missing influential captain Tasos Bakasetas because of injury.

Greece can go down swinging

I went for Both Teams To Score ahead of the first leg, and I haven't changed my mind here. Greece have to go for it, and they scored twice or more in five of their six league-phase games.

Scotland have found the net in 16 of their last 21 internationals, and a BTTS bet has landed in 11 of their last 19 matches. At 1/1, this feels like a value play.

McTominay worth backing to strike

Like many players who have thrived since leaving a dysfunctional Manchester United, Scott McTominay has hit a high level of performance for club and country.

The box-crashing midfielder has netted 10 times for club and country this season, and he's on penalty duty as well. At 3/1 on the Sportsbook, he's too big a price to ignore to back as an Anytime Goalscorer.

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