Scotland’s preparations for their Russia 2018 qualifying campaign are about to get serious with a double header against Euro 2016 finalists Italy and France.
Gordon Strachan’s team will take on the Azzurri in a friendly international here in the Ta’Qali Stadium here in Malta this evening and then France in Metz on Saturday.
The Czech Republic and Denmark – who were defeated by identical 1-0 scorelines in Prague and Glasgow respectively - were decent opposition back in March. But these games will take things up a level.
Both Italy and France will be looking to record confidence-boosting victories ahead of the start of European Championship finals they will be looking to win. With the national team’s opening Group F game coming against Malta in September, this will be a worthwhile exercise in more ways than one.
Chief football writer Matthew Lindsay is in Malta with the Scotland team. Here he takes a look at the penultimate match before our World Cup qualifying campaign gets underway.
How will Gordon Strachan approach this game?
The Scotland manager has rested most of his Celtic contingent for this game – Scott Brown, James Forrest, Craig Gordon, Leigh Griffiths and Kieran Tierney have all been given time off so they are fresh for the start of the Parkhead club’s Champions League qualifying campaign.
Elsewhere, Hull City quartet Shaun Maloney, Allan McGregor, Andrew Robertson and Robert Snodgrass and Barry Bannan of Sheffield Wednesday will join up with the national squad having been involved in the Championship play-off final at Wembley yesterday.
Scott Bain, Alan Hutton, Chris Martin and Lee Wallace have all withdrawn due to injury. There are, then, plenty of opportunities for those squad members who don’t feature regularly to stake a claim for future inclusion.
Darren Fletcher will captain the side. The West Brom man, once again outstanding for the Hawthorns club in the Barclays Premier League, will be looking to show Strachan that he and not Brown, whose form hasn’t been at its best, should start in central midfield.
James McArthur, who has recovered from the ankle injury that sidelined him this season, of Crystal Palace is likely to partner him there. Charlie Mulgrew, the only Celtic player here, will be looking for some game time. A Strachan favourite, he should get it.
Callum Paterson, the uncapped 21-year-old Hearts full-back, is expected to start the match. QPR winger Matt Phillips, who showed up well when he came on in the 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in Prague back in March, may also feature from kick-off.
Barrie McKay, the Rangers winger who has been excellent for the Ibrox club in the Ladbrokes Championship this season, has been called up to the full squad for the first time and he will be hoping to get involved at some stage. Stephen Kingsley of Swansea City and keepers Scott Fox of Ross County and Jack Hamilton of Hearts are the others who could make their debuts for their country.
Strachan will be looking for a good performance against quality opposition. He is missing many of his key players so a result would be a major bonus.
How are Italy looking?
By Italian standards, not particularly great. Bookmakers have only installed them as 16-1 outsiders to win Euro 2016. Their hopes of atoning for the 4-0 defeat they suffered to Spain in the final in Kiev four years ago don’t appear promising. Few fancy them.
Claudio Marchisio of Juventus and Marco Verratti of Paris Saint Germain have both been sidelined through injury. Antonio Conte, who will join Chelsea following the finals, is short of options in midfield and up front his side doesn’t look especially dangerous. Mario Balotelli has been left out of the squad after failing to impress with AC Milan this season
Riccardo Montolivo, Daniele De Rossi and Thiago Motta may be rested due to Conte’s concerns’ about their fitness.
But they are still Italy. They should be able to get out of a group that also comprises Belgium, Sweden and the Republic of Ireland. Getting a result against them, even a draw, will be a hugely positive result for Scotland.
How have Scotland fared against Italy in the past?
Poorly. Scotland have played the Azzurri on 10 occasions in their history – and have only won on once. That was in 1965 when John Greig scored the only goal in a World Cup qualifier at Hampden.
He is one of just four Scotland players to even hit the target against the four-time World Cup winners – Kevin Gallacher, Kenny Miller and Barry Ferguson are the others. Gallacher is the only man to net against them away from home.
Scotland were, not to put too fine a point on it, robbed when they played Italy in a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier at Hampden back in 2007. Christian Panucci headed home a hotly-disputed Andrew Pirlo free-kick in injury-time to kill off our hopes of reaching Austria and Switzerland. Hutton was fouled in the build-up to the award.
Only Fletcher and Steven Naismith are still in the Scotland squad. But they will have a point to prove when they take to the field in the 18,000-capacity Ta’ Qali National Stadium.
Score prediction?
Scotland 0, Italy 2.
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