By Kyle Gunn

ANDY ROBERTSON scored a thunderous injury time header in Warsaw as Scotland beat Poland 2-1 to keep them in with a chance of retaining their Nations League A status.

The Scotland skipper, who was representing his country for the 80th time, netted after a great cross from fellow defender John Souttar.

The Dark Blues got off to a wonderful start when John McGinn, who started the game ahead of Ryan Christie after scoring an 86th minute winner off the bench against 10-man Croatia at Hampden Park on Friday night, was on a target after just three minutes, again set up by Ben Doak.

Long Range Strike

Kamil Piatkowski did pull the hosts level just before the hour mark with a long range strike from the edge of the box but a draw between Portugal and Croatia, meant that Steve Clarke’s missed out on Pot 1 for the draw for World Cup qualifying, despite their victory.

Attacker Karol Świderski should have made it 1-1 after 18 minutes after getting in behind before firing into the side net. He also forced Craig Gordon into an excellent save, little was the Hearts goalie to know the Pole was offside.

Billy Gilmour crashed an effort off the bar before his club mate at Napoli Scott McTominay, had two bites at the cherry as the Scots ended the first half on top.

The hosts came out fighting at the start of the second period, the pressure culminating in Piatkowski’s strike which flew past Gordon in the goal.

Souttar, who put in a Braveheart type performance, then blocked a goal-bound shot to keep the Scots alive. Lyndon Dykes would then see his header acrobatically turned wide as Steve Clarke’s men cranked up the tempo.

Eventually it paid off in the 93rd minute as Robertson converted to rescue a relegation playoff place in the Nations League in March. Scotland may even squeeze into Pot 2 for World Cup qualification if the Czech Republic fail to beat Georgia or Estonia drawing with Slovakia tonight.

Three things we picked out:

Back four provides more balance

We first used a back four at Hampden in September in the home defeat to Poland. But in the last three games it has helped Scotland pick up seven points from a possible nine. Souttar was immense in beside Grant Hanley and flanked by Anthony Ralston and match winner Robertson, which was solid throughout. The change of shape also accommodates speed merchant Doak who has assisted two goals in this camp both put away by McGinn.

Uplift from last three games

Before Friday’s win over Croatia at Hampden, the Scots had been on a run of one win in 16 matches. But recently they have faced the likes of Ronaldo, Modrić and Świderski and have been able to keep them all relatively quiet, giving the Tartan Army a real shot in the arm after a poor Euros in the summer. There should be a buoyant feeling within the camp when they reconvene for the playoffs next year.

Steve Clarke getting pre-Euro qualification team back

Scotland couldn’t buy a win after qualifying for the Euros in Germany and as for the tournament itself, just don’t ask, one point from three games saw us returning with the proverbial tail between the legs. But now with the World Cup in Canada and Mexico coming up in 2026, could the Dark Blues return to the elite International competition for the time since 1998. For now though the focus will remain on the playoff campaign for the Nations League.