Scotland will face Croatia, Portugal and Poland in the 2024/25 Nations League after the draw was made in Paris on Thursday evening.

For the first time since the competition’s inception, Scotland are in League A after winning League B1 last year. As a result, Steve Clarke’s men were always going land some heavyweight opponents and have been put in League A1 alongside the 2018 World Cup runners-up Croatia, former European champions Portugal and the Poles.

Scotland met Croatia in Euro 2020, losing 3-1 at Hampden, while they also took on Poland in a friendly last year, drawing 1-1. Scotland’s last meeting with Portugal was in 2018, while the visitors prevailing 3-1 despite being without Cristiano Ronaldo.

Scotland have been pitted against Croatia, who they faced at Euro 2020.

The Nations League offers a play-off path for teams to the World Cup, with Scotland having benefitted from the tournament as recently as Euro 2020 when they overcame Serbia on penalties to reach the finals. This year it has been expanded with a new knockout round to be played in March 2025 before the finals are played in June. Only the teams involved in League A can compete in the finals.

The League A group winners and runners-up will meet in the quarter-finals, with the winners of these ties qualifying for the four-team final tournament, while previously only the four group winners moved on. The fourth-placed teams in Leagues A will still be automatically relegated to League B, as before, but whoever finishes third will enter into a two-legged home-and-away promotion/relegation play-off against a second-placed team from League B.

In terms of the other home nations England and the Republic of Ireland will meet competitively for the first time since 1991. The English and the Republic are also up against Euro 2004 winners Greece and Finland in Group B2. They avoided a long trip to Kazakhstan under UEFA’s excessive travel restriction rules, with the former Soviet republic placed in Group B3 instead. The last competitive encounter between England and the Republic was a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley, where a Niall Quinn goal cancelled out Lee Dixon’s opener. A friendly match in 1995 at Lansdowne Road had to be abandoned due to crowd trouble, and the teams’ most recent meeting was a November 2020 friendly.

Wales will be up against Iceland, Montenegro and Turkey in Group B4.

The Nations League will commence after this summer’s European Championships. Scotland are at Euro 2024 and are in a group with Germany, Hungary and Switzerland.

Full 2024/25 Nations League draw

A1: Croatia, Portugal, Poland, Scotland

A2: Italy, Belgium, France, Israel

A3: Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Bosnia & Herzegovina

A4: Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Serbia

B1: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Albania, Georgia

B2: England, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Greece

B3: Austria, Norway, Slovenia, Kazakhstan

B4: Wales, Iceland, Montenegro, Turkey

C1: Sweden, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Estonia

C2: Romania, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lithuania/Gibraltar

C3: Luxembourg, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland, Belarus

C4: Armenia, Faroe Islands, North Macedonia, Latvia

D1: Lithuania/Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, San Marino

D2: Andorra, Malta

Scotland discover Nations League draw - familiar foes, former winners, Cristiano Ronaldo

Full 2024/25 Nations League draw