Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon ‘struggled’ through illness in Poland win

Scotland goalkeeper Craig Gordon revealed his participation in the memorable win in Warsaw was in major doubt right up until the warm-up as he struggled with the effects of a virus.

Gordon was struck with the illness the day after keeping his second international clean sheet in succession as Scotland beat Croatia 1-0 at Hampden on Friday.

The 41-year-old travelled on Sunday in the hope of recovering in time for Monday’s game but was still badly affected as he warmed up.

With the uncapped Robby McCrorie and Cieran Slicker as understudies, Gordon summoned the strength and resilience to play as the Hearts player produced another impressive performance to help Scotland to a 2-1 victory which saw them jump above Poland into third place in Nations League A1.

As his team-mates revelled in Andy Robertson’s late winner, a weary Gordon stated he was “looking forward to getting back to my bed” as he made his way to the team bus.

“I was struggling,” he said. “Even in the warm-up, I struggled. But once I came back in from the warm-up, I decided then to give it a go to make sure I was out there.

“It was a struggle, but I managed to get through it. I wasn’t great. It wasn’t a good feeling. But I managed to get through it. I don’t really know how. I think once you get out there, instinct just takes over and you play the game.”

Scotland fans would have been absolutely none the wiser about Gordon’s health issues as he made a series of excellent saves to keep Poland at bay following John McGinn’s early opener, while Scotland hit the frame of the goal twice in an open first half.

The former Sunderland and Celtic player was eventually beaten by a powerful strike into the top corner just before the hour mark, which not even the fittest of goalkeepers could have stopped.

However, Scotland got back on top and Robertson produced the key moment.

Gordon said: “The first half, we were trying to stay in the game when things were difficult for us. We had to get through a tricky period. But we managed to do that as a collective, everybody making blocks or saves and keeping them out. It was important for us to get through that.

“The second half, not so much. Obviously, with Poland only needing a draw, I think they tried to look after that a bit more rather than going for the second. That played into our hands.”

Scotland now have a play-off to look forward to in March for the right to compete again in the elite level of the next Nations League.

Gordon could well win his 80th cap in the first leg – his motivation is not diminishing and Angus Gunn will be hard-pressed to displace the veteran on his current form when the Norwich goalkeeper returns from injury.

“I’ll see if I can still be here in March at 42 to have another couple of games and hopefully try and stay there as well,” he said.

“As long as I can keep my body in good shape, then I’ll give myself that opportunity to play.

“I’d love to try and still be part of it. There’s a lot of hard work to be done between now and then to stay at this level and make sure that I’m fit enough to be able to do that.”