Preview:Greece vs Scotland - prediction, team news, lineups

Still in the mix to secure automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup, Scotland travel to Karaiskakis Stadium in Attica where they will renew acquaintances with Greece in their penultimate Group C fixture on Saturday night.

The Tartan Army will be looking to complete the double over Greece in qualifying after they claimed a 3-1 victory in the reverse fixture in Glasgow last month.

Match preview

A mix of scattered applause and audible boos greeted the final whistle as Scotland wheezed their way to an unconvincing 2-1 victory over the world's 100th-ranked Belarus in front of an unimpressed Hampden Park crowd last month.

It was a momentous night for head coach Steve Clarke who took charge of the national team for a record-breaking 72nd time, but his side’s “head-scratcher" of a performance was “so poor” that it left him as ‘disappointed as he has ever been’ across his entire six-year tenure.

Nevertheless, back-to-back home wins over Belarus and Greece has moved Scotland onto 10 points and level with Denmark at the summit of Group C. A playoff spot is now guaranteed for Clarke’s men, but the target remains automatic qualification as they endeavour to end their 27-year exile from the World Cup.

Ranked 38th in the world by FIFA, Scotland are now preparing for their fourth meeting with Greece in 2025, with their aforementioned victory in qualifying last month preceded by a 3-1 aggregate victory in the UEFA Nations League playoffs in March, winning the away leg 1-0 thanks to a Scott McTominay penalty.

Not only would success on Saturday keep Scotland’s top-spot hopes alive before Tuesday’s potentially-pivotal clash with Denmark, but it would also extend their unbeaten away run to six matches (currently W4 D1) - their longest since a nine-game streak between September 1999 and April 2001.

Greece’s 3-0 away win over Scotland in March was the first of four victories in a row across all competitions in which they scored a whopping 17 goals in total, netting five of those in a thumping 5-1 home success over Belarus in their opening Group C fixture in World Cup qualifying two months ago.

However, the Sky Blue and White’s hopes of qualifying for their first World Cup since 2014 are now over after losing each of their last three Group C games, conceding nine goals and slipping to third place, leaving them seven points adrift of the top two with only two matches left to play.

Greece were leading 1-0 and boasted over 60% possession heading into the final half-hour of last month’s meeting with Scotland, but a disappointing collapse allowed goals from Ryan Christie, Lewis Ferguson and Lyndon Dykes to seal a 3-1 win for the Tartan Army at Hampden Park, just three days before Ivan Jovanovic’s side suffered defeat by the same scoreline away against Denmark.

Ranked 48th in the world by FIFA, Greece are merely playing for pride in their remaining two qualifiers, including a favourable trip to Belarus next Tuesday. This weekend, they will be looking to avoid losing four consecutive World Cup qualifiers for the first time since 1973.

Greece World Cup qualifying form:

Greece form (all competitions):

Scotland World Cup qualifying form:

Scotland form (all competitions):

Team News

Former Hibernian midfielder Nectarios Triantis - born in Australia - has received his first call-up to Greece’s national team and the 22-year-old Minnesota United man is in contention to make his international debut on Saturday.

Jovanovic has also called up uncapped 18-year-old forward Charalampos Kostoulas, who was signed by Brighton & Hove Albion for €35m in the summer and has scored one goals across 29 minutes of Premier League football so far this season.

Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis is expected to be preferred up front, though, while the likes of Kostas Tsimikas, Tasos Bakasetas, Christos Tzolis and Odysseas Vlachodimos are also set to feature, the latter of whom is hoping to earn his 50th cap. However, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Fotis Ioannidis are both absent due to injury.

As for Scotland, Udinese midfielder Lennon Miller and Bristol City defender Ross McCrorie have both withdrawn from the squad due to injury. Napoli’s Billy Gilmour is also ruled out for Saturday, but there is hope that he can be fit to return for Tuesday’s clash with Denmark.

In the absence of injured goalkeeper Angus Gunn, Clarke may hand 42-year-old Craig Gordon his 82nd cap, even though he is currently the second-choice goalkeeper at Hearts. Liam Kelly is also second choice for Rangers, while Falkirk’s Scott Bain has been recalled six years after earning his third cap.

McTominay, Ferguson and John McGinn could all link arms in midfield, while Torino’s Che Adams has started in all four qualifiers and will hope to retain his place up front ahead of Dykes and Lawrence Shankland.

Greece possible starting lineup:

Vlachodimos; Rota, Restos, Koulierakis, Tsimikas; Zafeiris, Kourbelis; Karetsas, Bakasetas, Tzolis; Pavlidis

Scotland possible starting lineup:

Gordon; Ralston, Souttar, Hanley, Robertson; McTominay, Ferguson, McGinn; Gannon-Doak, Adams, Christie

We say: Greece 1-3 Scotland

Many will argue that Scotland's hopes of securing automatic World Cup qualification rest entirely on Saturday’s trip to Greece, given that Denmark are expected to beat Belarus in their penultimate group fixture.

Greece have made a habit of striking first, as they have netted the opening goal in five of their last seven matches, but we still expect a fired-up Scotland outfit to prevail in this one and deliver a much-improved display compared to their laboured outing against Belarus.

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