Croatia – Scotland LIVE: Current status as teenager Ben Doak plays in the Nations League duel for the first time

Only five minutes until kick-off at the Maksimir Stadium. Will Scotland get their first win of the new Nations League season tonight?

Croatia have won six of their last eight Nations League games, drawing one and losing one. This run comes after they won just two of their first 12 games in the competition.

Croatia have won each of their last three home games in all competitions and are aiming to win four such games in a row for the first time since October 2020.

Mateo Kovacic could play his 107th game for Croatia, putting him in fifth place with the most appearances, ahead of Ivan Rakitic; Two of the four players above him also played in Croatia's 1-0 win against Poland last time out (Luka Modric at 180 and Ivan Perisic at 136).

Scotland are unbeaten in their two previous away games against Croatia: a 1-1 draw in October 2000 and a 1-0 win in June 2013 thanks to a Robert Snodgrass goal.

However, Scotland are winless in their last eight competitive games, having drawn three and lost five. This is the longest winning streak in their history.

The Scots could lose four games in a row for the first time since October 2019.

Scott McTominay has scored 11 goals in all competitive games for Scotland. Only three players have scored more goals for the country in competitive matches – Robert Hamilton (15 out of 15 between 1899 and 1911), Robert McColl (13 out of 13 between 1896 and 1908) and Andy Wilson (13 out of 13 between 1920 and 1923).

These two teams have only met six times, with Scotland winning twice and losing once. The other three games ended in draws.

The last meeting was at Euro 2020 when Scotland lost 3-1.

Here's a reminder of how to watch today's game. The game starts at 5pm BST (UK time) and will not be shown on TV but will be available to stream on YouTube.

The rights to Scottish Nations League matches are currently held by ViaPlay, but the Norwegian broadcaster scaled back its UK operations last year.

Therefore, Croatia vs Scotland will only be available on the Viaplay International YouTube channel and the stream will only go live at 4:50 p.m.

The only British representative in League A this time is Scotland, but Steve Clarke's side need a good break to avoid the threat of immediate relegation. They have suffered two defeats out of two in Group A1 and are dealing with numerous injuries ahead of games against Croatia and Portugal.

Finishing last in the four-nation group means immediate relegation, while third place now faces a relegation play-off – but the Scots have only won once in over a year, in 14 games.

The Nations League takes center stage again this week as the international break returns and countries across the continent return to at least some level of competitive play.

While opinions are still divided over Uefa's latest international adventure – and perhaps over the seriousness of team selection – this year's version does offer the usual replacement qualifying spots for the next major international men's tournament, in this case the 2026 World Cup.

In practice, this means that the top four Nations League group winners who do not make it into the top two of the World Cup qualifying groups have another chance to reach the USA, Mexico and Canada via the playoffs. So England, the home nations and the rest of the big nations face rounds three and four.

Some news from the other British teams in the Nations League…

Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson rewarded some incisive first-half approaches to give Wales the lead on a freezing night in Reykjavik. But Wales held on in the end after Logi Tomasson scored and forced Danny Ward into an unfortunate own goal at his near post within three minutes of the second half.

Orri Oskarsson smashed the crossbar from 20 meters and Jon Thorsteinsson hit the post as Wales extended their unbeaten start in the Nations League to three games with a 2-2 draw.

It would be hard not to feel sympathy for Steve Clarke as the beleaguered Scotland manager leaned back in his chair and looked at the absence list in his office. Of the 30 to 40 players who were considered for selection, the list contained a number of injured players and an absent eleven. And that's two games ago against top opponents in Croatia and Portugal, while Scotland are in the midst of the longest winless run in their history.

It's not a rosy picture. Clarke's assistant John Carver admitted Scotland “may have to suffer even more” in the Nations League as promotion to League A comes with a run of bad luck and a catastrophic loss of form at Euro 2024 after a difficult summer. Scotland have certainly suffered late heartbreaks against Poland at Hampden and Portugal at Lisbon last month, conceding the losing goals in the 96th and 87th minutes respectively.

Luka Modric leads a strong Croatia side with Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol in defense and PSV's Ivan Perisic at left-back.

“For the love of football, I’m still here on the pitch for Croatia at this age,” Modric said this week. “For me it is special to play for the national team, it is a great honor. It keeps me motivated and pushes me forward.”