According to Steve Clarke, Scotland "never lost belief" as they gave themselves a lifeline in the Nations League with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Poland. Scotland placed third in Group A1 and needed a victory to escape inevitable relegation. They now face a relegation play-off to defend their spot in the top flight of the sport. After just three minutes, John McGinn, who was awarded with a spot in the starting lineup after scoring the game-winning goal against Croatia, cushioned in his 20th goal for the national team, giving Scotland a lightning-fast start in Warsaw.

Craig Gordon made some excellent stops to preserve their lead, but Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour both struck the woodwork as they tried to double it before the half. Just before the hour, Poland was tied by Kamil Piatowski's incredible goal, but Andy Robertson, making his 80th appearance, made the difference in the 93rd minute by leaping high and sending a soaring header past Lukasz Skorupski. Since McTominay's goal against Israel in a World Cup qualifying match in October 2021, Robertson is the first player to score the game-winning goal for Scotland in the 90th minute.

Scotland has won back-to-back internationals for the first time since March–September 2023 (a five-game run), and Clarke was thrilled to end the Nations League group stage with a victory. "A fitting conclusion to this Nations League season. You never stop believing. There were many opportunities, and the game was fairly open," Clarke remarked. "We always thought there would be another opportunity, perhaps not from the original source, but it was a tremendous header from the captain and a fantastic cross from John Souttar, who was excellent defensively. "Despite our strong performances, we began with three losses, three of which were close. The athletes continued to believe. They ended up taking seven points from the final three games, which puts us in the playoffs, and I didn't lose faith in the players.

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