Juergen Klinsmann has accused Scotland of "being on vacation" and "only wanting to have a good time" the last time his United States side encountered them but he expects an entirely different proposition when they meet again at Hampden next Friday.
The 5-1 demolition in Jacksonville last May was a low point of Craig Levein's spell as Scotland manager. Klinsmann said Levein apologised for his team not providing a sterner test, admitting that he was unable to lift the squad after a long domestic season. However, the German believes that Scotland have been energised by Gordon Strachan and expects a useful workout in Glasgow ahead of next summer's World Cup.
"It's a very different [Scotland] team from last year," Klinsmann said. "They came to Jacksonville to finish their season and they simply wanted to have a good time and go on vacation. The coach [Levein], even after the match, kind of apologised and said it was hard to push them up again. I said that was totally understandable. However, that game helped us get our confidence for our World Cup qualifier last summer.
"Scotland are now a team which just barely missed the World Cup and twice beat Croatia, who still have a chance of reaching the World Cup. It's a team full of competitiveness that every time they play at Hampden Park in Glasgow is full of energy and full of enthusiasm and great attitude because they want to show their crowd that they are a good side. For us, it's a great benchmark to face them on their home turf and fully motivated. It's great because it puts us on our toes a half year before the World Cup."
USA travel to face Austria in Vienna four days after their appointment with Scotland, and Klinsmann has refuted suggestions the friendlies will be meaningless. The 49-year-old expects two "intense" fixtures as players attempt to earn their place in the 23-man squad for Brazil 2014 with limited chances for him to weigh up potential personnel. He added: "The key message for us for the Scotland and Austria games is those are World Cup preparation games, so they are serious. We are trying to bring in the strongest group possible; we want to prove a point in Scotland and in Austria that we are on the right path.
"We want to play good football there and show them that we come to their countries and stadiums to compete. We are excited about these opportunities because we don't have many left before training camp begins next May. Therefore, it's going to be intense."
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