Kovacic Anticipates Challenge from ‘Aggressive’ Scotland

Croatia midfielder Mateo Kovacic anticipates a challenging match against an “aggressive” Scotland squad on Friday night. The Manchester City player, who has completed a strong season in the Premier League, is expected to be part of Croatia’s starting eleven for the Nations League fixture at Hampden. “I’ve played against Scotland several times and it was never easy,” he said. “They will be aggressive and they are playing at home, and it’s never easy to play in Scotland. But we’ve worked really well this week and we hope to have a good result.” Kovacic identified two players from Scotland’s team, whom he knows well from his tenure in England, as their pivotal figures. “I never like to speak about individual players, but since you ask Scotland are a strong team who fight each other,” he added. “I know Billy Gilmour well from my time at Chelsea, he’s really developed in the last couple of years and I’m not surprised he’s doing so well. “He’s a big talent and I expect him to improve even more. “And John McGinn, it’s always very difficult for me to play against him. He’s a very tough, strong player and he’s been paying well for Aston Villa. “He’s back for this game and he will make Scotland much better.”