Former Scotland star Pat Nevin has told Sports Mole that he does not expect Steve Clarke‘s side to win a single UEFA Nations League fixture this season ahead of their meeting with League A Group 1 leaders Portugal on Tuesday evening.
Having been consigned to a third straight defeat last weekend – when Ryan Christie‘s opener raised hopes of a famous win in Zagreb, before Croatia roared back and took maximum points – Scotland remain pointless at the bottom of their group.
At risk of heading straight back down to League B when the action concludes next month, Clarke’s men must now reconvene with one of Europe’s top teams, as a Cristiano Ronaldo-led Selecao arrive at Hampden Park.
Ex-Chelsea winger and 28-cap Scotland international Nevin has concerns that the Scots’ year-long wait for a competitive win will go on, not just against Portugal but until the end of their Nations League campaign.
Asked whether he was expecting anything from the match, Nevin told Sports Mole: “I think trepidation and hope, I would say, rather than expectation. But not concern, because when this group was drawn after Scotland managed to get up to the top level of the Nations League, I didn’t expect us to win any games.
“However, we have been competitive in every single one. If you look at the Polish game, it was 2-2 until the 100th minute, something stupid like that; Portugal, 88th minute, Ronaldo scores against us. In the Croatia game, that was a single-goal defeat away from home against a top, top side where we thought we’d equalised in the last second.”
Scotland “competitive” despite poor form
In their first meeting with Portugal, Scotland went ahead when Scott McTominay struck early on, only for Bruno Fernandes to equalise before Ronaldo emerged from the bench to turn the game on its head.
Previously, Clarke and co had let a lead slip to lose against Poland in their opener, while substitute striker Che Adams saw a last-gasp leveller ruled out in Croatia last week.
It is now four successive defeats across all competitions for Tuesday’s hosts, whose only success in their last 15 matches came against Gibraltar in a summer friendly.
Yet, Nevin still believes events at Euro 2024 – where Scotland suffered a group-stage exit – could also have panned out differently for former Chelsea teammate Clarke, who has faced speculation about whether his position is still tenable.
“The two games before that were a draw against Switzerland, which was all right. And then Hungary, that was 100th minute when we lost that one. So to be fair, Scotland, while they’ve gone through this massive transition phase, have actually been fairly competitive,” he told Sports Mole.
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Scotland players still behind Clarke
In addition to a long injury list, featuring players such as John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson and Kieran Tierney, Nevin insists that Scotland are still short of talent in key areas, as they welcome a star-studded Portugal side to Hampden Park.
“Now there are weaknesses. You know, we haven’t got world-class creative players. We’ve not got a world-class goalscorer, all that sort of stuff. We get that. That’s where we are,” Nevin added.
“But none of that’s important. What’s important is, do the team believe in Steve Clarke? Are they still working hard for him? Are they improving in certain areas? I think they are.”
Pat Nevin was talking to Sports Mole on behalf of sports betting site BetVictor.
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