Ipswich Town striker George Hirst made his Hampden Park debut in Scotland's 3-0 defeat to Greece _(Image: PA)_
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.
Two Ipswich Town players earned international caps in Nations League play-off games last night.
Striker George Hirst was named on the bench for Scotland against Greece, but with his side 3-0 down after 55 minutes at Hampden Park, he was brought on.
Making his second cap after his debut last week, the 26-year-old was booked for a foul on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 71st minute and nodded a corner over the bar seven minutes later.
Having won the first leg 1-0, Steve Clarke’s side couldn’t get back into the tie, confirming their relegation to Nations League B.
Elsewhere, Jack Taylor and Dara O’Shea were both named as substitutes for the Republic of Ireland, who fell a goal behind to Bulgaria in the 30th minute at the Aviva Stadium.
It was one of just two shots on target that the visitors mustered across the 90 minutes, and one that levelled the aggregate score after Ireland’s 2-1 win in Plovdiv last week.
The Boys in Green did manage to turn the game around. Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah both scored after the break, with Taylor brought onto the pitch for the final eight minutes plus stoppage time to earn his third cap.
Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men won the tie 4-2 on aggregate, maintaining their place in Nations League B, where they could soon face Arijanet Muric's Kosovo.
The goalkeeper didn't feature in last night's 3-1 win against Iceland in Murcia, having dropped out of the squad after picking up an injury in the first leg, but his side were still able to secure promotion from Nations League C .