Croatia v Scotland LIVE: Team news as teenager Ben Doak makes first start

It would be hard not to feel for Steve Clarke, as the beleaguered Scotland manager leant back in his chair and looked up at the board of absentees in his office. Of the 30 to 40 players considered for selection, the list contained an entire line-up of injured players, a sidelined XI. And this is ahead of two matches against top-level opposition in Croatia and Portugal, all while Scotland are in the midst of their longest winless run in their history.

It’s not a rosy picture. Clarke’s assistant, John Carver, admitted Scotland “might have to suffer” some more in the Nations League, with promotion to League A coinciding with a tough run of luck and a dire loss of form following a difficult summer at Euro 2024. Scotland certainly suffered late heartbreak last month against Poland at Hampden and Portugal in Lisbon, conceding the losing goals in the 96th and 87th minute respectively.

Luka Modric leads a strong Croatia line-up featuring Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol in defence and PSV’s Ivan Perisic at left-back.

“I’m still on the pitch here for Croatia at this age for the love for football,” Modric said this week. “For me, playing for the national team is special, it’s a great honour. It keeps me motivated and pushes me forward”.

Livakovic, Sutalo, Caleta-Car, Gvardiol, Perisic, Modric (c), Mario Pasalic, Sosa, L. Sucic, Kramaric, Matanovic.

Subs: Labrovic, Ivusic, Jakic, Erlic, Moro, Pasalic, Budumir, P. Sucic, Baturina, Petkovic, Orsic, Pjaca.

Gordon, Roberston (c), Hanley, Souttar, Ralston, McLean, Gilmour, Christie, McTominay, Doak, Dykes.

Subs: McCracken, McCrorie, Adams, MacKenzie, Irving, Porteous, Lindsay, Morgan, Nisbet, Gauld, Devlin.

What a night for Ben Doak, the Middlesbrough forward on loan from Liverpool, who makes his first start for his country.

We’re expecting the line-ups in around five minutes…

Croatia XI: Livakovic; Erlic, Sutalo, Gvardiol; Pjaca, Kovacic, Modric, Baturina, Sosa; Matanovic, Kramaric

Scotland XI: Gordon; Ralston, Hanley, Souttar, Robertson; Gilmour, McLean; Forrest, McTominay, Christie; Adams

Steve Clarke’s side have been hit by an injury crisis, with up to 12 players missing from the squad. John McGinn, Angus Gunn, Kieran Tierney, Aaron Hickey, Nathan Patterson, Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna, Greg Taylor, Lewis Ferguson, Lawrence Shankland, Ross McCrorie, Tommy Conway are all unavailable.

Gunn’s absence means the 41-year-old Craig Gordon could start, almost six months on from seemingly playing his last international match against Finland. Uncapped Aberdeen full-backs Nicky Devlin and Jack MacKenzie, Preston centre-back Liam Lindsay and West Ham midfielder Andy Irving could make their Scotland debuts if called upon.

Thankfully for Scotland, Scott McTominay is fit and is in good form following his move to Napoli. The midfielder has scored in his last two Scotland games.

The match is not being shown on TV but is available to stream on YouTube.

The rights to Scotland’s Nations League matches is currently held by ViaPlay, but the Norwegian broadcaster stripped back its operations in the UK last year.

Last month, Scotland’s matches against Poland and Portugal were picked up by ITV – but no deal has been made ahead of the Croatia and Portugal games.

Therefore, Croatia vs Scotland will only be available to watch on the Viaplay International YouTube channel, and the stream will only go live at 4:50pm.

The match kicks off at 5pm BST (UK time) on Saturday 12 October at the Stadion Maksimir in Zagreb, Croatia.

Steve Clarke’s side have not won in eight competitive matches and suffered late defeats against Poland and Portugal last month.

The trip to Croatia, ranked 12th in the world, will be followed by the visit of Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo at Hampden on Tuesday night.