Gilmour and McTominay fly for Scotland and Napoli but 'uninspired' Steve Clarke costs them again – 5 talking points

Scotland suffered defeat to Poland in their Nations League opener at Hampden thanks to a 97th minute penalty.

Steve Clarke's side had fought back from 2-0 down to level the game after strikes by Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay in the second half. But Grant Hanley's foul in the box on Polish ace Nicola Zalewski gifted the visitors victory with the Roma midfielder slotting home the winner from the spot. The result was a body blow to Clarke and the Tartan Army who were looking for a positive result following their disappointing displays at Euro 2024 in Germany.

But their Nations League campaign got off to the worst possible start at home - with a trip to Lisbon to face Portugal next up on Sunday. The Poles raced into a two-goal first-half lead when Sebastian Szmanski grabbed the opener then Robert Lewandowski scored his 84th international goal with a penalty after Anthony Ralston had upended Zalewski.

But Scotland - who'd had a McTominay goal harshly ruled out for handball - roared back after the break and thought they'd secured a point. Gilmour struck first before his Napoli team-mate notched from close range to make it 2-2. But after fighting back, the Scots threw it away in the dying moments. Zalewski dusted himself down after Hanley's challenge to bury the spot kick past Angus Gunn and continue Clarke's record of just one win in 13 games.

When Scotland’s team-sheet landed at Hampden one word immediately sprung to mind. Uninspiring. Clarke spoke all week in the build-up about bringing a freshness to this Nations League campaign after the disappointment of Euro 2024 in Germany.

But we should have known better than that. Clarke is nothing but now loyal and he stuck with largely the same group of players who were found