Scotland v Macedonia preview
by Gordon Pope, 05 September 2008
Scotland travel to Macedonia to kick off the fight for qualification to their first major finals since 1998.
The last time Scotland were at world football’s top table was at France 98, when Craig Brown’s side fell short in a group containing Brazil, Norway and Morocco. This time around the target is South Africa and George Burley knows he needs a good start to qualifying in the Balkans, with his side‘s match live on Setanta Sports.
| Setanta Sports is the place to be for Scotland's qualifiers against Macedonia and Iceland. Click here for details on how to subscribe. Subscribe now and receive the first three months for £6.50 per month. |
Burley has still to feel the joy of leading his country to a win, and he knows that his side are facing a massive challenge on Saturday afternoon. Scotland travelled out to Eastern Europe on Friday morning, with the aim of getting better preparation at home before facing the unbearable heat of Macedonia. Burley and the SFA have faced criticism for deciding not to go early and acclimatise to temperatures that are expected to reach 33 degrees come Saturday afternoon.
Scotland go to Skopje with a squad that has been hit by call-offs. Along with long-term injury victim Barry Ferguson, Burley has lost David Weir, Kevin Thomson, Garry O’Connor, David Marshall and has worries over James Morrison.
You need to upgrade your Flash Player
This is replaced by the Flash content.
Place your alternate content here and users without the Flash plugin or with
Javascript turned off will see this. Content here allows you to leave out
noscript
tags. Include a link to
bypass the detection if you wish.
The Scotland manager is expected to go for Barry Robson if Morrison is unavailable, and is unlikely to change from his favoured 4-4-2 formation with Kenny Miller leading the line, fresh from his double in Sunday’s Old Firm match.
Burley’s opposite number Srecko Katanec is also facing his own injury worries ahead of Saturday’s encounter. Talismanic striker Goran Pandev injured his knee for Lazio at the weekend and has had to wear heavy strapping in training. Despite the fears for the 25-year-old, he is still expected to lead the line come kick-off time.
PIVOTAL PLAYER: James McFadden. The Birmingham striker is always crucial for Scotland and everyone will be hoping he has another moment against Macedonia like he did in France.
PREDICTION: 0-1
Agree or disagree? Let us know who you think will be the key man and what the score will be using the feedback form at the bottom of the page.
| Setanta Sports is the place to be for Scotland's qualifiers with Macedonia and Iceland. Click here for details on how to subscribe to our TV packages (available on Freeview and Satellite) or ‘Setanta By Broadband’ service. With Setanta By Broadband you can watch Setanta Sports live anywhere you have an internet connection and can catch up with any events you missed via our comprehensive on-demand service. You can now purchase ‘Setanta By Broadband’ as an add-on to your TV subscription for just £2.99 per month (or £7.99 as a standalone service). |