Scotland to meet Switzerland in Nations LeagueImage source, SNSImage caption, Scotland will turn their attention to the Nations League after making a long-awaited return to the World Cup stage this summerPublished3 hours agoScotland will face Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia in Group B1 in the next edition of the Nations League.Opponents will play each other home and away, with the fixtures grouped into three double-headers in September, October and November. The schedule is due to be revealed on Friday.Group winners are promoted, runners-up go into a play-off against a third-placed League A side, third faces a relegation play-off with a second-placed League C side and fourth drops straight into the tier below.”We knew whoever we got, it was going to be difficult,” head coach Steve Clarke told BBC Radio 5 Live.”The teams are evenly matched. It’s been a good competition for us in the past so we understand the benefit of it.”Scotland were in League A last time, losing a play-off with Greece over two legs after finishing third.A good showing could provide a safety net on the road to Euro 2028, which Scotland is co-hosting with England, Wales and Republic of Ireland.All four have to go through the qualification campaign, while Uefa has set aside two places for host nations who fail to get through.So a Nations League group winners route to play-offs would only come into play if more than two of the four fail to get through automatically.Scotland, who topped their World Cup qualifying group as third seeds, sit 38th in the Fifa rankings, 20 places below the Swiss.Slovenia are 57th, with North Macedonia 66th.Switzerland, who were last in their A Group in the previous campaign, were unbeaten in World Cup qualifying, beating Slovenia 3-0 at home and drawing 0-0 away.Recent recordsScotland and Switzerland drew 1-1 in Cologne at Euro 2024.Slovenia were opponents in the 2018 World Cup qualification process, with Scotland drawing 2-2 in Ljubljana after a 1-0 win in Glasgow.Scotland last met North Macedonia in the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign, drawing 1-1 at Hampden and winning 2-1 away.Related topicsFootball
