Dribble Diaries

On Monday, Scotland fans had to wait until the very end to find delight. A trip to Poland with their Nations League future on the line necessitated a total team effort, and one player came up at the right time. Andy Robertson, Liverpool's star and international captain, scored in the 93rd minute to startle the hosts 2-1 after a superb cross from John Souttar. It was his first international goal in five years, and he was making his 80th appearance for his country. Without it, Scotland would have been demoted, but they advanced to the League A/B playoffs instead.

Scotland took an early lead against Poland in the Nations League on Monday, thanks in large part to midfield maestro John McGinn. The Scots needed a win to escape relegation from League A, and they got off to a great start when McGinn converted their first shot following a superb cut-back from Ben Doak. Surprisingly, the same duo united for the victory over Croatia last Friday. It was McGinn's 20th goal for his country, passing Ally McCoist on the all-time scoring record and making him only the sixth Scottish player to reach that milestone. Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law both lead the charts with 30 strikes each. Could McGinn catch them before he hangs up the boots?

Steve Clarke has defended leaving Lennon Miller out of Scotland's newest squad, claiming the 18-year-old "needs time and space to grow" before receiving his first senior call-up. Miller has been a breakout sensation in Scotland this season, and the teenager captained Motherwell to a 2-1 League Cup semi-final loss to Rangers on Sunday. The midfielder has already played for Scotland's Under-21s, but with Scot Gemmill's team out of action this month, Miller will instead represent the Under-19s in the latest round of European qualifiers. Scotland faces Croatia and Poland in their last Nations League double-header, and Clarke has been bolstered by the recovery of several injured players, notably John McGinn. Clarke's side gained their first Nations League point with a 0-0 draw at home to Portugal last month, but relegation is looming unless Scotland defeats Croatia at home or Poland in Warsaw. Youngsters Ben Doak and Connor Barron remain in Clarke's squad,...

Scottish defender was a vital element of Liverpool's success under Bill Shankly in the 1960s. Ron Yeats, a Liverpool legend and former long-serving captain, died at the age of 86. The club announced Yeats' death on Saturday morning, after the Scottish veteran defender revealed in January that he had Alzheimer's disease in recent years. A Reds statement read: "Liverpool FC is saddened by the death of renowned former captain Ron Yeats. "In the words of Bill Shankly, a 'colossus' in club history, the Scot died on Friday night at the age of 86, having unfortunately suffered from Alzheimer's in recent years. "Everyone at LFC is thinking about Ron's wife, Ann, as well as his family and friends, during this extremely difficult time. "Flags across club sites will be lowered to half-mast today as a mark of respect." Yeats joined Liverpool from Dundee United in 1961 and went on to make 454 appearances for the club as captain over the next deca...

Napoli have now failed in their attempt to sign Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay. The Athletic previously reported on Napoli's interest in McTominay, and Italian publications have now verified this. Gianluca di Marzio reports that while Napoli is close to signing Billy Gilmour, Giovanni Manna is interested in McTominay. After consulting with Manchester United, the Partenopei proposed a loan move for the midfielder, but the Red Devils declined. Having said that, Sky Italia suggests that the move may still be viable. Michael Folorunsho could yet leave the club, and he appears to be close to a move to Lazio. This could lead to Napoli making another attempt to sign the Scotsman, while Jens Cajuste's exit from Brentford is still unknown. 

Napoli failed in another bid for Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour, who is a key target for the Serie A club this summer. The Scottish midfielder has emerged as one of Napoli's top targets during the current transfer window. Antonio Conte worked with Gilmour at Chelsea and hopes to bring him to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona this summer. Brighton rejected a deal from Napoli early in the transfer season, but the Serie A giants made another approach in recent hours. According to Italian network Sky Italia, the Serie A giants failed with another bid of €10 million plus add-ons. The new bid was insufficient for Brighton to approve the midfielder's sale in the current transfer window. Brighton reportedly wants a base sum of €12 million plus an additional €3 million in add-ons if they sell him. Napoli has gone back to the drawing board and is preparing an improved offer for Gilmour this summer. 

  The European Championship has recently grown in size and quality to unprecedented levels. Since Euro 2016, the tournament has grown from 16 to 24 teams, giving smaller countries a better chance of reaching the competition's finals, as illustrated by first-time qualifiers Georgia in 2024. However, the knockout stages have become more accessible to participants. Instead of the top two sides automatically qualifying from the group stage and all remaining sides returning home, a number of third-placed teams at the Euros now reach the last 16. The top two finishers in each group go to the knockout stages, just as they did before the Euros expanded. The leading and second-place teams in each of the six groups will automatically advance to the Euro 2024 round of 16. However, finishing outside of the top two does not mean the end for participating nations. In actuality, the four best performing third-placed teams in the group stages will advance to the round of 16, despite facing some d...

Steve Clarke says Scotland's true identity was revealed in the 1-1 draw with Switzerland, which keeps their Euro 2024 chances alive. The Scots were beaten 5-1 by Germany in their first Group A encounter in Munich on Friday, leaving the Scots manager and the Tartan Army seeking a response, which they received. Scott McTominay's shot was deflected in by Swiss defender Fabian Schar in the 13th minute, but Xherdan Shaqiri levelled in Cologne in the 26th minute after Anthony Ralston made an error. Germany has six points, Switzerland has four, and Scotland has one heading into their final game against pointless Hungary on Sunday in Stuttgart. "It was what we expected," added Clarke, who confirmed that defender Kieran Tierney will miss the match against Hungary due to an injury sustained while being carried off on a stretcher. "This is how we've been playing as a team for the past three to four years. This is why we are at a huge competition. "I believed the...