Clarke’s Scotland start Nations League campaign against Ronaldo and co

The new edition of the Nations League kicks off this week, and Scotland start their campaign off against Portugal, live on talkSPORT.

The Tartan Army are in League A after an excellent campaign in this competition last time out saw them promoted, and they have been rewarded with a group containing Portugal, Croatia and Poland.

Steve Clarke‘s men had a horrible Euro 2024, collecting one point from their three group games and crashing out before the knockout rounds.

So, they’ll be looking to bounce back and turn this Nations League campaign into a memorable one.

Meanwhile, Portugal also had a pretty disappointing European Championship, given they only made it to the quarter-finals.

Despite having some of the best players in the world at their disposal, Cristiano Ronaldo and co struggled in open play throughout and created very little.

Portugal vs Scotland: Rotten Ronaldo

As far as Euro 2024 performances go, Ronaldo’s for Portugal was shocking.

The legendary forward is Portugal’s greatest player and has delivered time and time again for his country.

However, this seemed like a tournament too far for the Al-Nassr ace, who appeared as if he couldn’t keep up with play throughout.

Portugal’s main game plan seemed to be to get the ball to the striker in the box, but from 23 shots, he failed to score a goal and even missed a penalty against Slovenia.

It was clear that he was holding Portugal back, and a more dynamic forward like Diogo Jota or Goncalo Ramos could have made all the difference.

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Portugal vs Scotland: Date and how to follow

This Nations League League A Group 1 game is set to take place on Sunday, September 8.

Kick-off at at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon is set for 8:45pm local time, which is 7:45pm in the UK.

talkSPORT will have live commentary of the match, with Joe Shennan and former Scotland international Chris Iwelumo.

To tune in to talkSPORT through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

talkSPORT.com will also have all the reaction for Portugal.

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Portugal vs Scotland: Team news

Ahead of Scotland’s Nations League fixtures, Clarke has introduced four uncapped players into the team.

Liverpool’s Ben Doak, who has just joined Middlesbrough on loan, makes the squad, and he’s joined by Ryan Gauld, Max Johnstone and Robby McCrorie.

Lyndon Dykes returns after missing Euro 2024 through injury.

However, after a poor display in Germany, Jack Hendry, Ross McCrorie, Liam Cooper, Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Jack have all been dropped.

Celtic captain Callum McGregor has retired from international football.

For the hosts, Ronaldo is still in the squad, but fellow veteran Pepe has retired from football.

Chelsea’s Renato Veiga makes the squad and joins Lille’s Tiago Santos as the new faces into Roberto Martinez‘s team.

Scotland squad

• Goalkeepers: Zander Clark (Heart of Midlothian), Angus Gunn (Norwich City), Robby McCrorie (Kilmarnock).
• Defenders: Grant Hanley (Norwich City), Max Johnston (SK Sturm Graz), Scott McKenna (UD Las Palmas), Ryan Porteous (Watford), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andrew Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Greg Taylor (Celtic).
• Midfielders: Ryan Christie (AFC Bournemouth), Ben Doak (Liverpool), James Forrest (Celtic), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps), Billy Gilmour (Brighton & Hove Albion FC), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Manchester United), Lewis Morgan (New York Red Bulls).
• Forwards: Che Adams (Torino), Tommy Conway (Middlesborough), Lyndon Dykes (Queens Park Rangers), Lawrence Shankland (Heart of Midlothian).

Portugal squad

• Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves), Rui Silva (Real Betis)
• Defenders: Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Renato Veiga (Chelsea), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), Tiago Santos (Lille), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Nelson Semedo (Wolves)
• Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal)
• Forwards: Joao Felix (Chelsea), Francisco Trincao (Sporting Lisbon), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting Lisbon), Rafael Leao (AC Milan/), Geovany Quenda (Sporting Lisbon), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool)

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Portugal vs Scotland: What has been said?

Clarke is hoping that his side will have more attacking threat than they did at Euro 2024.

Speaking at the squad announcement, he said: “The players and myself are probably more disappointed than anybody else because we felt we had a chance to create a better history for the country.

“We didn’t do that. But now you have to bounce back, you have to show our resilience and move on.

“We have to look at being more creative, we have to look at trying to create more chances, but we also have to keep a defensive solidity because as a team we don’t score a lot of goals, we understand that.

“In the qualifying games we were very clinical with the chances we got. In the tournament when we got the chances to score, we were perhaps not quite as clinical.

“We didn’t get the shot away early enough or didn’t show enough composure to make the finish and put the shots on target.”