Scotland boss faces selection headache as two Middlesbrough stars hope for place

Scotland's head coach Steve Clarke has admitted to having "sleepless nights" over team selection due to the return of several key players from injury. John McGinn is vying for a spot in the lineup for the upcoming Nations League clash with Croatia at Hampden Park on Friday.

The squad welcomes back centre-backs Jack Hendry and Scott McKenna, as well as Middlesbrough's in-form striker Tommy Conway, who has already bagged five goals this season. Hearts' Lawrence Shankland and Celtic's Greg Taylor are also on Clarke's radar after recovering from injuries that saw them miss out last month, while Stuart Armstrong returns to the fold following impressive performances at Vancouver Whitecaps, stepping in for the absent Che Adams and Lewis Morgan.

After securing a goalless draw against Portugal, Scotland aims to stave off relegation in Group A1 as they prepare to face Croatia and then travel to Warsaw for a match against Poland on Monday.

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On the returning players, Clarke said: "It's great. I haven't slept this week because you've got so many permutations going through your head, it's brilliant. Good choices again. We've got good options (in the final third). Like I said, Tommy Conway back in, back involved.

"Ryan Gauld showing that he can come in and do a good job. Ben Doak was good for us last camp. You've got John McGinn back, you've got Ryan Christie, you've got Stuart Armstrong. Like I said, sleepless nights."

Scotland still have a slim chance of finishing second in the group and guaranteeing another shot at the top level of the Nations League. They would need to win their final two games and hope other results fall their way, while anything less than a win against Croatia could potentially consign them to bottom spot before the final match.

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Clarke is looking for a similar but improved performance to the one that held Portugal last time out.

"Obviously, you know when you play against the top sides, of which Croatia are definitely one, you have to defend well. So there's your similarity, we have to defend well," he said. "We have to do a little bit better with the ball. We didn't quite get enough possession against Portugal. With the little bit of possession that we did get, we showed that we can create some chances. So that's what we have to improve on.

"That's been the one thing over the Nations League campaign that we've shown, we can be competitive at this level. We have to find the extra little details that turn these performances into results. But we've got two games to come and still a chance to be really competitive in this group and stay at that level, which is what we all want."