Scotland to play Poland in friendly after postponement of playoffs

Scotland will play Poland in a friendly on March 24 in place of the postponed World Cup qualification playoff against Ukraine, world soccer's governing body FIFA said on Monday.

Last week, Ukraine's Football Association had asked FIFA to postpone the qualifier against Scotland following Russia's invasion of their neighbour, a request that was granted, with the match now scheduled to take place in June.

The winners of that game at Hampden Park in Glasgow will take on Austria or Wales, who still meet in their playoff semi-final next week as planned, for a place in November's World Cup finals in Qatar.

Russia, who have been suspended from international soccer by UEFA and FIFA, were scheduled to host Poland in a qualifying playoff on March 24, but FIFA granted Poland a bye to the next round, where they will play either Sweden or the Czech Republic for a spot at the World Cup.

To fill the gap in their schedules, Scotland and Poland will instead face each other at Hampden next Thursday in a friendly.

(Reporting by Peter Hall; Editing by Christian Radnedge)