An early strike from former clubmate Diogo Dalot set the stage for Cristiano Ronaldo to score his 900th career goal on Thursday, as Portugal secured a 2-1 win in their Nations League opener against Croatia.

Dalot had fired home after receiving a through ball from Manchester United colleague Bruno Fernandes, before Ronaldo's finish put the hosts in control of proceedings in Lisbon, albeit a Dalot own-goal later reduced their advantage.

Having been eliminated in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, the Selecao produced a positive response upon returning to action, with their all-time appearance holder and record scorer quietening claims he should step away from the national team.

Head coach Roberto Martinez will ultimately be aiming to go all the way in a tournament Portugal won in 2019: they missed out on a place in the finals by finishing second to Spain in their group last time around.

Now, the ex-Belgium boss targets maximum points from a home double-header, though even finishing second in Group 1 would be enough to reach the quarter-finals in UEFA's new extended format.

Aside from two goalless draws, Scotland have been beaten in each of their previous meetings with Portugal, so history will not be on their side at Estadio da Luz.

Much has changed since their last encounter in 2018, as Steve Clarke's reign has seen the Scots return to somewhere near their former status, reaching successive European Championship finals and earning promotion to the top tier of the Nations League.

However, a truly miserable run of results continued earlier this week, as Poland converted a stoppage-time penalty to win 3-2 at Hampden Park, following a valiant Scottish fightback.

New Napoli signings Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay both scored second-half goals to pull the hosts level in Glasgow, but Grant Hanley's tired challenge felled Nicola Zalewski late on, and the winger then stepped up to beat Angus Gunn from the spot.

Scotland have now conceded 17 goals in eight matches this year, including one in another late heartbreak against Hungary as they exited Euro 2024 with only one point from three games.

Just one win from 13 throughout 2024 puts pressure on Clarke to avoid another defeat this weekend - particularly as finishing third or fourth could see Scotland relegated - but the calibre of their opponents makes that a tough task.