March 2025 – Fortunebets

Scotland were relegated from Nations League A after a 3-0 home defeat by Greece.

Steve Clarke’s side made a decent start but goals from Giannis Konstantelias, Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tzolis had the visitors 3-1 up on aggregate with just 15 seconds of the second half played.
The Hampden crowd expressed their dissent on several occasions as Scotland never really looked like getting back into the game.
They now drop down to the second tier of the competition ahead of the next set of group games in the autumn of 2026.

Scotland had Ryan Christie back in the team after suspension with Lewis Ferguson the only player to drop out following the 1-0 first-leg win.

Greece made six changes including handing a first start to Karetsas, the 17-year-old wide player whose introduction helped change the flow of the game in Greece’s favour in the second half on Thursday.

Sir Alex Ferguson made a pre-match appearance, holding up a number 10 shirt in tribute to Denis Law before a minute’s applause for Scotland’s joint-record goalscorer in the first home international since his death.

The hosts started on the front foot.

Che Adams had a penalty appeal rejected before Scott McTominay had an angled shot saved after being played through by Kenny McLean.

Andy Robertson soon fired wide and McTominay then saw a shot deflected into the side net.

But Greece levelled the aggregate score in the 20th minute with their first meaningful attack.
Robertson was outnumbered as Karetsas fed overlapping right-back Georgios Vagiannidis, whose cutback found the untracked Giannis Konstantelias and the midfielder swept the ball home from 10 yards.

Scotland almost responded quickly. McTominay sliced wide from the edge of the box before playing in John McGinn, who was denied by goalkeeper Kostas Tzolakis.

Greece looked dangerous as the half progressed and they doubled their lead in the 42nd minute after the Scotland midfield again failed to track Konstantelias.

Robertson ran into the middle of the box to close the midfielder down after he collected a pass from the left wing, but that just left Karetsas unmarked. Konstantelias teed up the teenager, who curled the ball first time into the top corner.

Konstantelias produced another assist 15 seconds after half-time, collecting a loose pass from Christie and setting up Tzolis to finish.

Boos rang out from the home fans after Scotland were stretched again and Karetsas curled beyond the top corner.

The home fans were audibly unconvinced by Clarke’s first attempt to change the game in the 55th minute, notably the decision to take off Billy Gilmour. McLean and Adams also went off as Kieran Tierney and Lewis Ferguson joined the midfield and striker George Hirst made his Hampden debut.

There was little evidence of a cutting edge for Scotland. Hirst headed off target from two difficult chances and the scoreline could have been worse.

John Souttar’s goal-line clearance from Vangelis Pavlidis saved Grant Hanley’s blushes after the defender’s slip and Tzolis blazed over on the break.

Clarke went for broke in the 73rd minute by bringing on strikers Tommy Conway and James Wilson and handing them wide roles but the best chance fell to Tierney, then playing at left-back, with only seconds left. Tzolakis made a good diving save.

Evan Ferguson scored his first goal since November as the Republic of Ireland preserved their Nations League B status with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Bulgaria.

Ferguson, currently on loan at West Ham from Brighton, claimed his fifth senior international goal with 27 minutes remaining before substitute Adam Idah struck after coming off the bench to secure a 2-1 play-off second-leg win at the Aviva Stadium to go with the one which Ireland returned from Plovdiv with on Thursday.

Just as they had done on home soil, the Bulgarians took a first-half lead, this time through midfielder Valentin Antov, and again they were unable to defend it on a night when, contrary to Republic boss Heimir Hallgrimsson’s prediction of a no-holds-barred physical battle, they played some fluent and compact football.

Defender Jake O’Brien might have marked his first competitive start in style when he met Robbie Brady’s fourth-minute corner with a firm downward header, but saw keeper Plamen Iliev make a good reaction save.

With winger Mikey Johnston terrorising the Bulgarians down the right and linking well with Ferguson, Troy Parrott and Finn Azaz – defender Simeon Petrov had earlier had to make a timely block to prevent Johnston from finishing off a flowing move he had started – Ireland were firmly in the ascendancy.

Parrott turned a 24th-minute Brady cross on to the foot of the post as Ireland responded, but it was the visitors who took the lead on the half-hour when, after Georgi Milanov’s volley from Kiril Despodov’s corner had been block by Nathan Collins, Antov stabbed the loose ball past Caoimhin Kelleher, his side’s first attempt on goal.

Parrott flicked a Brady cross on to the roof of Iliev’s net and full-back Fabian Nurnberger cleared another O’Brien header off the line as the hosts fought for a way back into the game, but they went in at the break frustrated.

Johnston should have done better after being played into space by Parrott with 49 minutes gone, but screwed his right-foot shot well wide, and the West Brom midfielder saw another attempt smothered at source three minutes later after linking well with Parrott and Ferguson.

Azaz fired wide after O’Brien had headed down a Brady free-kick and Iliev clawed Ferguson’s 55th-minute strike out of his bottom corner after Parrott had robbed Petrov with chances – or at least half-chances – coming thick and fast.

Kelleher made his first save of the night when he plucked Nurnberger’s shot out of the air two minutes later, and his side was back in it after 63 minutes when Ferguson played a beautifully executed one-two with Azaz before lashing the ball into the roof of the net.

Ireland wrapped up victory with six minutes remaining when Azaz set Mark Sykes away down the left and he turned back inside before clipping the ball to the far post for fellow substitute Idah to volley home.