Scotland and the UEFA Nations League: What happens next?

Scotland's 3-2 win over Israel at Hampden Park secured a top-of-the-table finish for Alex McLeish's men, and promotion to the next tier in the UEFA Nations League.

Four nations - one from each of the four groups in League C - will advance to the play-offs, due to be played in March 2020.

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Two one-legged semi finals are played, before the winners of the two semi-finals meet in a one-legged final to determine who will receive the Euro 2020 place.

A James Forrest hat-trick ensured Scotland topped their Nations League group - but what now for the Scots? Picture: SNS GroupA James Forrest hat-trick ensured Scotland topped their Nations League group - but what now for the Scots? Picture: SNS Group
A James Forrest hat-trick ensured Scotland topped their Nations League group - but what now for the Scots? Picture: SNS Group

Scotland’s position as League C Group 1 winners means they will face Group 2 champions Finland at Hampden Park. The Finns lost 2-0 in Hungary on Sunday night, but their previous results were enough.

Former Celtic striker Teemu Pukki scored three goals in three 1-0 wins which effectively secured Finland’s place at the top of their group.

Serbia’s 4-1 win over Lithuania saw them qualify while a 2-0 win over Cyprus on Monday for Norway sets up a meeting between the two nations.

How does the Nations League affect Euro 2020 qualifying?

Scotland (and the other nations) will still have to contest the standard Euro 2020 qualifying campaign - but if countries fail to make it to the finals through the usual route, the Nations League provides a backdoor of sorts.

This means that, even if Scotland mess up the standard Euro qualifiers, they are potentially two games away from the tournament.

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However, the teams in the Nations League semi-finals could well change. If nations successfully negotiate the standard qualification route, play-off spots will then be handed down to lower ranked sides.