Scotland and Slovenia open Nations League campaigns with McBurnie in starting XI

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Scotland and Slovenia begin their UEFA Nations League campaigns on Saturday, with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m. BST. The match will be shown live in the United Kingdom on BBC One and streamed on BBC iPlayer.

Scotland are looking to move past a World Cup campaign that ended in a group-stage exit. Slovenia missed the World Cup but reached the Round of 16 at Euro 2024, a historic run they will seek to build on as both teams try to establish early momentum.

Scotland striker Oli McBurnie has been named in the starting lineup on his first return to national team selection since 2021. He has yet to score in 16 appearances for Scotland. Captain Andy Robertson, the Liverpool defender, will earn his 97th international cap, putting him three appearances from 100.

Slovenia have lost only twice at home since their European Championship knockout-stage appearance: 4-1 to Norway in the previous Nations League campaign and 2-0 to Kosovo during World Cup qualification. Scotland, by contrast, have kept one clean sheet in their last 11 internationals. Their last competitive shutout was a 2-0 win over Belarus in September of last year.

Scotland are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Slovenia, recording two wins and three draws. The sides have not played out a scoreless draw since their first encounter, a World Cup qualifier in 2004.

Slovenia Starting XI: Jan Oblak, Breedlove, Jaka Bijol, Vanja Drkusic, Erik Janza, Zan Karnicnik, Adam Gnezda Cerin, Timi Max Elsnik, Aljosa Matko, Andraz Sturm, Andraz Sporar. Slovenia’s substitutes are to be announced.

Scotland Starting XI: Angus Gunn, Aaron Hickey, Andy Robertson, Stephen Welsh, John McGinn, Billy Gilmour, Oli McBurnie, Ute, Jack Hendry, Scott McKenna, Lewis Ferguson.

Scotland Substitutes: Liam Kelly, Scott Bain, Oliver Binks, Josh Doig, Ryan Christie, Lennon Miller, Reece McPake, Ben Doak, James Graham, Tommy Bowie, Nathan Patterson, Adam Montgomery.