21:45. Thank you all for joining me for this thoroughly outstanding match, which ended in a 1-0 victory to the Scots. Stay tuned to VAVEL for all of the post-match coverage.
21:40. Shaun Maloney's curling effort was enough to give Gordon Strachan's men a huge win at Celtic Park. Next up for Scotland is a mouthwatering friendly against England, whilst Ireland face the US.
FULL-TIME: SCOTLAND 1-0 REPUBLIC OF IRELAND.
90+3' SO CLOSE! Brady sends in a delicious costless-kick, and Walters heads the ball onto the bar. Surely Scotland's game now.
90' Four minutes of added time at the end of the match.
87' Ireland doing their best to score a late equaliser, but to no avail. McGeady taking an extra touch and isn't able to get the shot away.
78' Robbie Keane comes on for Ireland. Last throw of the dice for Martin O'Neill, and he'll be hoping his record goalscorer can become a hero again.
75' GOAL SCOTLAND! Anya and Maloney play a little one-two from the corner, and the little man curls a terrific shot into the bottom corner. 1-0 Scotland!
74' CHANCE! Scotland send in a costless-kick, which Jon Walters just gets just enough to, corner to Scotland.
68' Robbie Brady and Stephen Quinn coming on for Ireland. Shane Long and Darren Gibson coming off.
66' CHANCE! Naismith does brilliantly to get around the Ireland defence, but Martin drags his shot wide.
62' Derby man Chris Martin heads the ball over after some good play from the home side. Second half not filled with as much energy as the first half.
58' CHANCE! Marshall does well to push Aiden McGeady's volley out for a corner, which comes to nothing.
55' Scotland sub: Fletcher off, Martin on.
51' CHANCE! McGeady sends a swinging cross into the box, but Hanley deflects Walters' header over the bar.
47' Coleman does fantastically well to cover Anya's chase for the ball, not for the first time tonight.
46' Scotland get the second half underway!
IMAGE: The two teams stand to sing their national anthems pre-game (@SkyFootball)
IMAGE: Steven Naismith flicks the ball past John O'Shea (@EuroQualifiers)
20:33. This has been end-to-end stuff, both sides really going for it, but no goals yet. Scotland have looked more likely to make something happen, having a number of chances on goal.
HALF-TIME: Scotland 0-0 Republic of Ireland
45' Two added minutes at the end of the first half.
44' Lots of stoppages as the game draws towards the end of the half. Still 0-0 at Celtic Park.
39' Steven Whittaker has a shot from outside the box, but drags it along the ground as it rolls safely into Forde's arms.
38' Jon Walters has another shot, but the shot goes well wide. Seemingly all-Scotland now.
34' CHANCE! Scotland have the first dangerous chance on goal in the game. Maloney hits an exquisite cross, but Mulgrew heads the ball wide.
31' A lot of late and needless challenges flying in from both sides now, the passion game being turned up ever so slightly.
26' Hanley challenges David Forde for the ball, but knocks the goalkeeper onto the ground. Forde took a hand to the face in the challenge.
19' Scotland have their first lengthly spell of possession, but aren't able to have a clear shot on goal.
15' Aiden McGeady becomes the first player to be carded for Ireland. The feisty start we all expected is taking place.
12' Grant Hanley is booked for a late challenge on Shane Long. May have been lucky not to be sent off.
10' Darren Gibson tries a volley from 30 yards out, but Marshall comfortably collects. Visitors seem to be playing on the counter-attack.
6' McGeady nicks Andy Robertson after losing the ball in the Scotland half. The Everton man was met with huge boos from the Scottish fans.
4' Scotland win the first corner of the game, but Steven Fletcher heads over the bar.
2' Jon Walters hits a shot from outside the area, but the save is easy for Marshall. All Ireland in the opening three minutes.
1' Ireland kick-off, winning a costless-kick after just 10 seconds.
19:40. The teams are on their way out and are preparing for each national anthem. The fans are buzzing across the stadium, so lets hope that the atmosphere is matched by the football.
19:30. Seems like the predictions are pretty one-sided! Lets see what some of Twitter predicted:
@Manquillo believes that the game will pan out into a 1-1 draw, with Steven Naismith and Shane Long scoring the two goals.
Both @SimplySergio and @LennonIsLife are predicting 2-1 wins for Ireland, whilst @TeamToDieFor says a 0-0 draw is on the cards.
19:22. Many pundits and fans alike believe that the three points would benefit Scotland in their push for a first finals since the 1990s, and Strachan is no different. The Scotland manager described the game as a 'must not lose' fixture:
"It’s not a reluctance, just a general belief. We’ll have a better idea of things once we’ve all played each other once. You never know when the big game will come. Maybe we’ve had our big game – it might be somewhere else down the line. It would be good to take four points from Ireland and Poland but I really don’t think that way. You never know what tally will get you through. In the Champions League, for example, sometimes you get through with nine and sometimes you don’t with 12 so you don’t know."
I don’t get upset if we don’t get a certain total – it might freak us out and put added pressure on. And now is no time for Scotland to get freaky. There is too much at stake for them to start losing their heads.There is always pressure in every job – in this one you feel you are letting down a nation if you don’t do well. But through performances, we have made them proud. However, somewhere along the line there has to be performances that are not that great. But we have to make sure if we are not playing that great that we make it difficult for our opponents to play well."
“We’ve got it right. We don’t get them too high for a game no matter if it’s Germany or Georgia and we want to strike a balance. Hopefully the way the coaches react makes that happen.
19:17. Robbie Keane drops to the bench despite his hat-trick against Gibraltar last month, with Shane Long replacing the LA Galaxy striker. Long scored twice at the weekend for Premier League high-fliers Southampton.
19:14. Ireland secured a famous draw in Gelsinkirchen last month, thanks to a John O'Shea goal. Take a look at what happened in that 1-1 draw, including wild celebrations from the travelling fans:
19:10. The other games today in Group D include World Champions Germany, who face Gibraltar, a team that have already conceded 17 goals in their three qualifiers. Poland and Georgia played one another in the early kick-off in Tblisi, the Poles running out 4-0 winners.
19:04. The two managers tonight are no strangers to Celtic Park. Strachan managed Celtic from 2005 until 2009, replacing his opposition tonight, Martin O'Neill.
19:00. Just 45 minutes until kick-off at Celtic Park! What are your predictions for the game?
Whilst you're all waiting for the game to start, take a look at VAVEL's preview of the game, by Danial Kennedy - https://www.vavel.com/en/football/414836-euro-2016-qualifiers-scotland-vs-republic-of-ireland-match-preview.html
Scotland - Ireland have just been announced by the respective countries. Find out if Glenn Whelan is fit enough to play after his late call-up to the Ireland side:
OFFICIAL Scotland line-up: Marshall, Whittaker, R.Martin, Hanley, Robertson, Maloney, Mulgrew, Brown, S.Fletcher, Naismith, Anya
Scotland Substitutes: Gordon, C.Martin, Dorrans, Bannan, Greer, D.Fletcher, Burke, Gilks, Russell, May.
OFFICIAL Republic of Ireland line-up: Forde, Coleman, O'Shea, Keogh, Ward, McGeady, Hendrick, Gibson, McClean, Long, Walters.
Republic of Ireland substitutes: Christie, Randolph, Given, Clark, Pearce, Meyler, Pilkington, Brady, Quinn, Keane, McGoldrick, Murphy.
18.40. Tonight's referee for Scotland v Ireland game is Serbian-born Milorad Mažić. Mažić was in charge of two matches at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, overseeing Germany's 4-0 win over Portugal and Argentina's 1-0 victory against Iran.
18.31. We're just over an hour away from kick-off of game live Scotland - Ireland, with about 15 minutes until the teams are announced. Who are your favourites for tonight's game?
18.27. The visitors are in a rich run of form, remaining unbeaten in their group, as well as winning the match before against Oman. Scotland's form has been rather indifferent, but that seems to be of little concern to Steven Naismith, who is excited to come up against his Everton team-mates:
"When we go into the game Scotland - Ireland, I want to win and I want them to lose. We’ll go back to our clubs and talk about the game and the result and how everyone played, rather than anything else. Darron shouldn’t be underestimated and I think Seamus is the best right-back in Europe. It’s funny because I’ve not spoken to any of them since last week."
"Normally we text each other a lot but it’s no friends for a week. I’m wanting to win so badly that the friendships can go on the side until after the game. They’ll be the same. It’s probably best leaving each other to get down to business then we’ll talk about it afterwards."
VINE: The Ireland players have arrived at Celtic Park...
FAI's post on Vine
Irish team arrive at Celtic Park! #ScoIrl #COYBIG
18:12. There has been yet more controversy surrounding Roy Keane in the build-up to an Ireland match. With his autobiography being the centre of attention during the previous international break, it seems that Keane is not staying away from the media, this time getting into an altercation with a fan. Martin O'Neill, however, says he has the former Aston Villa manager's backing:
"Roy asked that the Gardai (police) be called and has notified them of what happened. While this process is ongoing we are unable to say more at this point. However, I can say that after being made aware of the facts that Roy has both my full support and the full support of the FAI and John Delaney, the FAI chief executive."
17:46. The game Scotland - Ireland will be played at Celtic Park, the home of Scottish Premier League champions Celtic, as well as being one of many grounds that the Scottish national team play their football.
17:44. Scotland, on the other hand, have won, drawn and lost a game in this qualifying stage. Gordon Strachan's men lost by a single goal to Germany on matchday one, before a narrow victory against Georgia and a 2-2 draw against new group favourites, Poland.
17:29. Ireland were a goal away from equalling their biggest-ever international victory when they beat Gibraltar 7-0 in matchday 2, before a 94th-minute equaliser secured a famous 1-1 draw in Gelsinkirchen. A 2-1 win on the opening matchday against Georgia sees them sat joint-top of the group.
17:25. Scotland - Ireland have made impressive starts to their EURO qualifying campaigns. With the new rules stretching the finals to 24 teams, it seems that both are doing their best to take advantage and qualify for the finals. This is how the table looks so far:
17:16. It has been 14 years since the Scots last beat the Republic of Ireland, coming from a goal down to seal a 2-1 victory at Lansdowne Road. Here's what happened on that day back in 2000:
17:06. Scotland - Ireland go head-to-head for the first time since the 2011 Nations Cup, when a single goal from Robbie Keane was enough to give the Irish a 1-0 victory at the Aviva Stadium.
17:00. Hello and welcome to VAVEL UK's live text coverage of the EURO 2016 qualifying match between Scotland - Ireland Live. My name is Tyron McGee, and I will be bringing you minute-by-minute action from this evening's match.