Sporting Kansas City forward Johnny Russell and the Scotland Men’s National Team earned a crucial 4-0 road win over Albania in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday at Loro Borici Stadium in Shkoder. Russell entered as a 73rd-minute substitute with the visitors leading by four goals and helped Scotland close out a comfortable victory.
The result lifts Scotland level on points with first-place Israel in Group 1 of UEFA Nations League C ahead of Tuesday’s decisive group stage finale at Hampden Park in Glasgow. A win over Israel would see Scotland win the group and clinch promotion to League B in the 2020-21 UEFA Nations League, while Israel only need a draw in order to finish first. Kickoff is set for 1:45 p.m. CT with a live stream on ESPN+. Israel currently holds the head-to-head tiebreaker, having defeated Scotland by a 2-1 scoreline on Oct. 11.
Following Tuesday’s contest in Glasgow, Russell will return to Kansas City as Sporting KC prepares to meet the Portland Timbers in the Western Conference Championship of the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.
2018-19 UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE C: GROUP 1
| # | TEAM | PTS | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD |
| 1 | Israel | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 |
| 2 | Scotland | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | +5 |
| 3 | Albania | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | -7 |
Saturday marked Russell’s ninth senior appearance for Scotland and his fifth since joining Sporting KC at the start of 2018. The 28-year-old nearly tallied an assist in the 78th minute, teeing up Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay at the top of the box, but the resulting shot caromed off the crossbar.
Scotland were in cruise control from the early stages, taking a 14th-minute lead through Ryan Fraser before Albania’s Mergim Mavraj was sent off seven minutes later. Steven Fletcher converted a penalty on the stroke of halftime and James Forrest bagged a second-half brace to round out the scoring.
Russell has enjoyed a brilliant first season with Sporting KC, amassing 12 goals and 13 assists in all competitions. He has become the fourth player in club history to record double-digit goals and assists in a single MLS season and was named the club’s Offensive Player of the Year last month.
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