Cyprus v Scotland: Euro 2020 qualifier – live!

32 mins: Naismith flicks the ball on for McGinn to chase, he then gets into a tussle with Kousoulos in the box, which the referee lets go despite having his whistle in his mouth. Cyprus eventually recover the ball and clear.

30 mins: Jack sends a ball through for Naismith to chase but his age catches up with him and he’s beaten to it by 36-year-old Pardo. Christie whips in a corner, which lands straight on the head of an unmarked McKenna but he knocks the ball down and straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.

28 mins: Scotland haven’t done much since scoring, to be honest, it’s been all Cyprus. Clarke needs to get them going again and they will struggle to absorb so much possession.

A match summary from Phil.

26 mins: Cyprus break after McGregor is dispossessed, they work it into the box where Sotiriou fires a low shot but Marshall gets down well and palms it clear.

It’s a stat of sorts.

24 mins: Cyprus get another corner after Merkis heads the ball wide with no Scotland player near him. This referee is ruddy awful. He makes amends with a soft free-kick for pushing in the box.

22 mins: Papoulis has chucked himself to the ground twice in the last few minutes. The first one was deemed a dive but he manages to win a free-kick second time around. It’s whipped in by Efrem but McGinn reads it and heads it behind.

20 mins: Cyprus like to pass the ball around the back and then whack it long, which seems counter-productive. It works, though, as a fine pass is sent out to Papoulis, whose cross almost found the marauding Ioannou before being turned behind.

18 mins: I am getting a headache from all the whistling. The referee gives a free-kick for pushing in the box after Scotland take one of their own. I think the referee might not be very good.

16 mins: Speaking of the referee (and his assistants) … they have already missed a goal and have been very strict on everything else. McGregor was booked for passing a spare back to the corner taker and knocking the other ball from its spot. How very odd.

14 mins: Cyprus will be even more aggrieved by their non-goal now. They go down the other end in an attempt to get a quick equaliser but Gallagher does his best to put off Efrem and heads it behind. The referee books McGregor for very little.

CRASH! BANG! WALLOP! WHAT A GOAL! Christie gets the ball on the right from McGinn, cuts inside, dribbles and then picks his spot, curling the ball with his left foot into the top corner from 20 yards. No chance the keeper could save that!

10 mins: Scotland are trying to play at a high tempo, that’s for sure. They just need to get their foot on the ball a bit more to influence things going forward, as they are too quick to force things at the moment.

8 mins: There’s no goal-line technology in play here and the Austrian assistant was not in a great position to see where the ball landed after crashing off the bar. Cyprus will not be too happy with that. A wake-up call for Scotland.

6 mins: Cyprus break through down the middle, with the ball finally played into Efrem in the box, he shimmies to get away from McKenna, makes room for the shot then whacks it off the underside of the bar and just beyond the goal-line but nothing is given!

4 mins: McGinn is not giving anyone in the Cyprus midfield any time to settles on the ball, harassing them from the moment they take possession.

2 mins: Scotland start brightly and force a corner after 22 seconds but nothing comes from it. Clarke can take the positives from his team looking eager, at least.

I do like Cyprus’ goalkeeper, Urko Pardo. Born in Belgium to a Basque father and Galician mother, only to end up playing international football for Cyprus having spent years playing in the country.

A classic! Let’s hope for more of same today. Richard Gough was the hero in this World Cup qualifier.

Scotland are not the only team to have players withdraw …

It really does look like a nice day in Nicosia, so no one can complain about the conditions.

This chap will be a miss today.

And if you want some other relatable Euro 2020 news. I spoke to Finland’s captain, Tim Sparv, before their historic qualification. If you change the tenses in your mind, it still makes a lot of sense.

I have been brought in for this MBM due to my in-depth knowledge of Cypriot football. Earlier this year I spoke to their centre-back Nicholas Ioannou. His mum is from Norwich! Aha!

Second to reach a milestone is Steven Naismith who is notching his 50th cap. The forward joined Hearts in the summer after leaving Norwich, despite having offers from abroad, and has put himself firmly in Steve Clarke’s plans. “The biggest thing playing in Scotland does is put you in the limelight with the coverage,” Naismith said.

“It was part of my decision. If I was to go abroad and choose one of the offers further afield then that would have probably suggested I would not earn more caps, but I didn’t want to give up on that.”

There are a couple of milestones in the Scotland team today. Declan Gallagher is earning his first cap in defence. It’s been a long road for the Motherwell centre-back who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2015 for his involvement in an assault which left the victim with a fractured skull. He left prison after 16 months of his sentence and joined Livingston, impressing there before joining Motherwell where he has continued his fine form.

Former Scotland international Dominic Matteo is in hospital after undergoing surgery on a brain tumour. Get well soon, Dom!

Cyprus: Urko Pardo; Karo, Merkis, Kousoulos, Ioannou; Efrem, Demetriou; Kyriakou, Costi, Papoulis; Sotiriou

Scotland: Marshall; Palmer, Jack, Gallagher, Taylor; McGregor, McKenna, McGinn; Christie, Naismith, Forrest.

Good afternoon! Roughly 73,629 players have dropped out of this Scotland squad, with Brian McClair and Gary McAllister on standby.

Under Steve Clarke, Scotland have won just twice in his six games in charge. Seeing as qualifying from the group is out of the window, today is all about showing they have somehow improved since he took over.

Without Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and Ryan Fraser the task is all the more difficult. Cyprus are one place above them the group and can even boast a positive goal difference in the group, so overhauling them with a victory would be a great boon to a team heading towards a March playoff.

It’s currently 24C in Nicosia, so at least it’s a nice November away day.

Let’s just hope it’s an enjoyable watch for all!

Kick-off: 2pm GMT