Czech Republic 1-0 Scotland The Czech Republic have been the better side and fully deserve to be ahead.
GOAL! Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 Poland (Hajradinovic 24 pen)
A bit of Premier League news
“Scotland are on a hiding to nothing tonight against a makeshift Czech side,” says Simon McMahon. “Which I suppose makes a change from just being on a hiding. You could even say it’s a no-win situation for Steve Clarke. Insert your own punchline here.”
GOAL! Northern Ireland 1-3 Norway (Sorloth 17)
Norway are on fire at Windsor Park. Haitam Aleesami’s gorgeous cross from the left is volleyed in from close range by Crystal Palace goal machine Alexander Sorloth.
GOAL! Austria 1-1 Romania (Baumgartner 17) An equaliser for the home side in Klagenfurt.
Kylian Mbappe has tested positive for Covid-19, so he’ll miss France’s match against Croatia tomorrow.
The latest scores
- A1 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-0 Poland
- A1 Netherlands 0-0 Italy
- B1 Northern Ireland 1-2 Norway
- B1 Austria 0-1 Romania
- B2 Israel 0-1 Slovakia
- B2 Czech Republic 1-0 Scotland
- C4 Albania 0-0 Lithuania
- C4 Kazakhstan 1-2 Belarus (FT)
Another goal in Scotland’s group: Michal Duris has made it Israel 0-1 Slovakia.
“Rob, is it safe to like the Dutch football team now?” says Charles Antaki. “Memories of poor old Nigel de Jong and his fearsome kick into Xabi Alonso’s chest might now have faded from memory. (Perhaps not Xabi Alonso’s memory.) And they have cleancut young men playing attractive football, if not quite winning much. Probation over I think.”
I quite enjoyed the guilty comedy of their Neanderthal phase. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed a football liveblog much as the filthy free-for-all against Portugal in 2006.
GOAL! Czech Republic 1-0 Scotland (Pesek 12)
Oh, Scotland. The Czech Republic have taken the lead with a really good goal. Tecl turned and slipped an excellent through pass to Jakub Pesek, who drew Marshall and clipped the ball over him.
Czech Republic 0-0 Scotland Nothing much to report in Olomouc, though the all-new Czech Republic side have made a decent start.
GOAL! Northern Ireland 1-2 Norway (Haaland 7)
Three goals in seven minutes at Windsor Park! Erling Braut Haaland runs onto a bouncing ball 20 yards from goal and slams it into the far corner with his left foot. Brilliant finish.
GOAL! Northern Ireland 1-1 Norway (McNair 6)
That didn’t take long either. Paddy McNair has equalised straight away for Northern Ireland, tapping into an empty net after Conor Washington’s shot was saved.
Austria 0-1 Romania Another early goal in Group B1: Denis Alibec has given Romania the lead in Austria.
GOAL! Northern Ireland 0-1 Norway (Elyounoussi 2)
That didn’t take long. Celtic’s Mohamed Elyounoussi has given Norway an early lead at Windsor Park with a smart chest-volley from Stefan Johansen’s long pass.
Norway’s Mohamed Elyounoussi scores early against Northern Ireland. Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP
Updated
Peep peep! The seven matches are under way. Two eyes aren’t really enough on a night like this, but we’ll do our best.
This is the penultimate night of Nations League action for this international break. There are some decent games tomorrow, including Sweden v Portugal, Denmark v England and, best of all, France v Croatia.
“Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “With such obvious Holes in the Czech defence, even Scotland should have no trouble scoring.”
Those funny little plans, that never work quite right.
Czech Republic v Scotland team news
As expected, there are nine debutants in the Czech Republic side.
Czech Republic (4-3-3) Mandous; Holes, Hubnik, Jemelka, Zeleny; Janos, Budinsky, Havlik; Malinsky, Tecl, Pesek.
Scotland (possible 4-2-3-1) Marshall; Palmer, Cooper, McKenna, Robertson; McTominay, McLean; Christie, Fleck, Armstrong; Dykes.
Updated
Northern Ireland v Norway team news
It’s a big night for Steven Davis, who equals Pat Jennings’ record of 119 Northern Ireland caps.
Northern Ireland (possible 4-3-3) Peacock-Farrell; Smith, Cathcart, Ballard, Ferguson; McNair, S Davis, Saville; Dallas, Washington, Thompson.
Norway (4-4-2) Jarstein; Elabdellaoui, Ajer, Hovland, Aleesami; Johansen, Henriksen, Normann, Elyounoussi; Haaland, Sorloth.
A lone inflatable dressed in Northern Ireland colours in an empty stand in Belfast. Photograph: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Updated
Netherlands v Italy team news
Netherlands (4-3-3) Cillessen; Hateboer, Veltman, van Dijk, Ake; De Roon, Van de Beek, F de Jong; Wijnaldum, Depay, Promes.
Italy (4-3-3) Donnarumma; D’Ambrosio, Bonucci, Chiellini, Spinazzola; Barella, Jorginho, Locatelli; Zaniolo, Immobile, Insigne.
Updated
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Poland team news
Bosnia and Herzegovina (4-3-3) Begovic; Kvrzic, Bicakcic, Sanicanin, Civic; Besic, Hadziahmetovic, Hajradinovic; Hodzic, Koljic, Gojak.
Poland (4-2-3-1) Fabianski; Kedziora, Glik, Bednarek, Rybus; Goralski, Krychowiak; Jozwiak, Zielinski, Grosicki; Milik.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to another bumper night of Nations League action. Netherlands v Italy is the glamour match of the night, while there’s British interest in groups B1 and B2. Northern Ireland, who earned an excellent draw in Romania on Friday, are at home to Norway. And Scotland, who had a slightly frustrating draw at home to Israel the very same night, play the Czech Republic C team in Prague.
You probably know the story, but just in case: a couple of the Czech Republic players had to self-isolated after coming into contact with a backroom member of staff who tested positive for Covid-19, prompting the Czech FA to pick an entirely new squad of players and coaching staff to face Scotland. Only two of the new squad have international experience. It’s a great opportunity for Scotland to add to a list of infamous results that includes Iran, Costa Rica, the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan.
One match has already been played, with Belarus winning 2-1 away to Kazakhstan in Group C4. There are seven other games, all kicking off at 7.45pm BST:
Group A1
- Bosnia and Herzegovina v Poland
- Netherlands v Italy
Group B1
- Northern Ireland v Norway
- Austria v Romania
Group B2
- Israel v Slovakia
- Czech Republic v Scotland
Group C4
- Albania v Lithuania
Updated
