Blackout fears over Scotland’s next two vital Nations League qualifiers

INTERNATIONAL football returns this week as Scotland get set to face Croatia and Portugal to try and reignite their Nations League campaign.

But the Tartan Army might struggle to tune into the two games as neither have so far been selected for TV coverage.

Steve Clarke‘s men failed to grab a single point in their opening two games at Hampden and in Lisbon last month after facing Poland at home and Portugal away.

A late penalty strike from Nicola Zalewski at the national stadium meant Poland enjoyed a perfect start to their campaign after taking advantage of Grant Hanley foolish foul in stoppage time.

The Scots then faced Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time in his career just days later in the hope of turning things around.

But the Manchester United and Real Madrid icon pounced with a sucker punch late on to give his side a 2-1 win, despite Scott McTominay‘s shock opener in the first half.

However, now it is time for Clarke’s squad to put those results behind them and turn their attention towards Croatia and their return clash with Ronaldo and co.

First up is Euro 2020 foes Croatia and that match will be played at Maksimir Stadium, the home of Dinamo Zagreb.

But as of right now, only the fans who have tickets for the game will be able to catch the action in Zagreb and back in Glasgow.

That’s because the rights for the game have yet to have been picked up by any broadcasters.

The same issue occurred for last month’s games before ITV stepped in to acquire the rights just days before the first game against Poland.

And SunSport understands ITV have NOT jumped in to purchase the rights for the nation’s up-and-coming double header – as things stand.

The TV blackout risk has become a worry for Scotland‘s armchair fans ever since Viaplay pulled out of the UK last summer.

The Scandinavian broadcasters agreed a contract with Uefa to televise all Scotland’s international qualifiers until 2028 but those plans have since been scrapped.

It leaves Scotland’s fixtures up for grabs, and Premier Sports and the BBC both entered negotiations over the games last month, before ITV swooped in to save the day.

Fans will be hoping another solution is found before their heroes jet off to Croatia for that match on Saturday.

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