England run riot as Scotland face Skopje test in Nations League
England led Croatia 6-0 in Rijeka with 15 minutes left on Saturday 3 October, as the Nations League delivered a packed night across Europe.
The scoreline in Croatia told its own story. England were ruthless away from home while the evening programme was still building to its late kick-offs. The live coverage described a 6-0 lead with a quarter of an hour to play The Guardian.
That game had started at 5pm UK time. North Macedonia against Scotland followed in the 7.45pm slot, part of Matchday 3 in the 2026-27 Nations League. The Nations League, UEFA’s competition for national teams played in leagues with promotion and relegation, was concluding its third round of fixtures on Saturday 3 October UEFA.
Scotland travelled to Skopje with a new manager still looking for his first win. Sébastien Pocognoli, taking charge of his first Scotland squad in this window, said he was focused on “the process” before the trip to North Macedonia BBC Sport. The match was a League B Group 1 clash, played at the Nacionalna Arena Toše Proeski Scottish FA.
Pocognoli made two changes for the night. Stephen Welsh and Ben Doak came into the defence as Scotland tried to find balance and a result on the road.
North Macedonia started with Dimitrievski in goal, behind Mladenovski, Meljichi, Musliu, Ilievski, Gashtarov, Stankovski, Herrera, Bardhi, Elmas and Miovski. Scotland lined up with Gunn, Welsh, McKenna, Binks, Doak, Ferguson, Gilmour, Robertson, McGinn, Bowie and McBurnie. Francois Letexier of France was the referee.
Experience sat in the middle of that Scotland side. John McGinn, the 31-year-old Aston Villa captain, arrived with 91 caps and three major tournaments behind him. Robertson brought leadership from left-back. Gilmour and Ferguson offered calm passing in midfield.
Elsewhere, Spain against Czechia was the other headline tie of the late window. The game kicked off at 19:45 in Oviedo, listed by UEFA as a Matchday 3 fixture. Spain went into it aiming to extend their perfect start to the group.
Scotland’s wider group is tight and familiar. They were drawn in Group B1 alongside Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia, playing each opponent home and away. Switzerland and Slovenia were also in action on the night, with Switzerland naming Kobel, Athekame, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez, Jashari, Freuler, Aebischer, Manzambi, Ndoye and Amdouni, and Slovenia naming Oblak, Drkusic, Bijol, Zec, Janza, Matko, Zabukovnik, Karnicnik, Lovric, Vipotnik and Sturm.
For fans, this means a long evening of flipping between games. One-sided scorelines are rare at this level. A night like this sticks because strangers end up watching the same goals together.
