It’s been well over 80 days since we last saw the Scotland national team in action, a smash-and-grab victory against Poland in Warsaw to rescue themselves from what had seemed like an inevitable prospect of direct relegation to League B in the Nations league.
Instead, Steve Clarke’s side secured a two-legged play-off in order to remain in the top division. Their opponents? Greece, who finished second in their League B group behind Euro 2024 runners-up, England.
A month after that dramatic conclusion, The Tartan Army found out who they’d be facing for a place at the 2026 World Cup. Either Portugal or Denmark – depending on who loses that Nations League tie, Belarus, and… Greece again.
The resulting ties firstly set up two games between Scotland and Greece in March, played across the span of just four days to decide who will play in League A in the Nation’s League’s next outing. Greece will host the first leg in Athens before travelling to Hampden Park for a decisive second leg.
With the prospect of World Cup qualifying on the line, however, the later matches will be much more daunting, and perhaps crucial, in both side’s minds. After all, the Pirakito have only qualified for the finals on just three separate occasions, most recently in 2014. Scotland will be hoping to end a 28-year-long drought and reach the tournament for the first time since they competed in France.
There’s plenty of expectation from both sets of fans. Hopes and aspirations are growing ever higher for Scotland, with their Nations League campaign proving that they can compete against top sides. Greece can historically never be taken for underdogs, having famously won the European Championship in 2004, but in more recent times stunned England with 2-1 win at Wembley – only finishing behind the Three Lions on goal difference. It’ll also be the first time these two nations have ever clashed.
So what can we expect from a meeting which will surely become a notorious fixture across the span of 2025?
Manager – Ivan Jovanović
Serbian coach Ivan Jovanović has been at the helm of the Greek national team since August 2024, and oversaw a mostly successful Nations League campaign – one which has entrusted him with Greece’s hopes for reaching the World Cup in the USA, Mexico, and Canada.
His side don’t set up as a lot of modern national teams do – rather than taking the approach of firm defensive numbers and seeking opportunities to counter, Greece aim to take the game to their opponents, threatening with a solid midfield offering creative sparks such as Club Brugge winger Christos Tzolis and marauding full backs, most notably Kostas Tsimikas of Liverpool.
Greece held more than 50% possession in three of their six games, scoring eleven goals and conceding just four goals – all of which from England, also meaning that they were able to keep four clean sheets against Ireland and Finland respectively.
Defensively sound, yes – and clearly scoring goals isn’t much of an issue.
Player to Watch – Vangelis Pavlidis
Above: Pavlidis hits a spectacular first-half hat trick against Barcelona. The Benfica forward scored five goals during the League Phase to help his side secure a place in the playoff round.
Vangelis Pavlidis may not be a household name as of now, but he’s picking up form – and with that, goals – at an alarming rate for Scotland to sit comfortably.
The 26 year old has had a slow start to his career, with spells at Bochum and Willem II starting his footballing journey, but a move to Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar in the summer of 2021 gave him the kickstart he needed.
Across three seasons Pavlidis scored an impressive 80 goals in 137 appearances, numbers which convinced Portuguese giants Benfica to bring in the forward last summer for around 18 million Euros.
With 14 goals and 7 assists in 34 appearances this season – the most notable of those contributions being a hat trick against Barcelona (although Benfica ultimately lost to the Catalan side 5-4), and a sublime finish in a 2-0 win over Juventus in Turin.
As for his country, Pavlidis has been capped forty-four times, scoring on eight separate occasions. While his record may not be as impressive as it is for his clubs, he’s proven himself to be a man for the big moments, scoring both of Greece’s goals in their victory over England.
Given his stellar rise in a matter of just four years, Scotland have every right to be worried about the Benfica striker – no doubt that Steve Clarke will be scratching his head working out how to keep Pavlidis quiet for 360 minutes’ worth of football.
So why are the World Cup games so important?
The obvious answer is, of course, that both teams want to secure a flight to the United States in the summer of 2026.
Portugal or Denmark – whoever drops in due to defeat in the Nations League – will undoubtedly be expected to win the group and qualify automatically. The Portuguese have a star-studded squad, whereas Denmark have qualified for the last two tournaments in Russia and Qatar respectively.
That leaves second place, and the prospect of playoffs, very much up for grabs. Here’s where Scotland and Greece will lock horns, both likely viewing the runners-up position as their best bet of reaching the final tournament.
Scotland reached the playoff semi-final during the last round of World Cup qualifying but were ultimately beaten 3-1 by Ukraine in a bitterly disappointing evening at Hampden. Greece had a rather bitter experience in their last playoff round, losing on penalties to Georgia as they missed out on a place at Euro 2024.
Steve Clarke, forever a believer in taking things as they come, had time to assess a familiar set of opponents.
“Looking at Denmark, that victory at Hampden in 2021 was a memorable night. We lost in Denmark and we then won by the same scoreline so we know what to expect from them.
“Obviously we played Portugal recently in the Nations League matches. We did well to get a point off them at Hampden and we played well over there.
“We will now play Greece four times in 2025 so we’ll get to know them very well and the March games now take on a slightly different meaning, with both teams having a close look at each other ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.”
And with March just around the corner, Clarke and Jovanović will be preparing for the first and second of four massive games for both countries. A do-or-die knockout playoff in the Nations League followed by a clash each in October and November, where any point and any advantage gained is utterly massive for either side. Scotland will be hoping for another smooth-sailing qualifying campaign, but Greece will be more than happy with a shot at World Cup qualification – especially if that means putting another British team to the sword.
