Match Programme: Macedonia vs Scotland

Scotland take on the Macedonia tomorrow in Skopje, looking for their first win under George Burley. It's a win that could not come at a more important time, as this is not just another friendly but the first in a series of two games the national side will play in their campaign to qualify for the World Cup in 2010.  Following the game in Macedonia, Scotland travel to Iceland for their second Group 9 game on the 10th September.

It wouldn't be a Scotland international fixture without the usual crop of injuries and call-offs. The Scots travel to Skopje with several notable omissions, forcing manager George Burley to make some last minute changes to his team. This week, Kevin Thomson, Kevin McNaughton and Callum Davidson joined James Morrison, David Weir, goalkeeper David Marshall and Garry O'Connor on the list of players unavailable for the game. Aberdeen's Jamie Langfield was called up (the first Aberdeen player in a Scotland selection for quite some time) along with Rangers' Kirk Broadfoot and Hearts' Michael Stewart.

Macedonia are not without their injuries worries; Goran Popov is out for the game, and coach Katanec is watching anxiously for the injury to star player Goran Pandev, who plays his football with Italian giants Lazio, to heal before the game.

While Scotland where labouring against Northern Ireland at Hampden, Macedonia put in the sort of performance that, if not exactly against tough opposition - Luxembourg - at least got the ball in the net, always a morale booster when you're about to start an important series of games. Before that game, Katanec's side fought out two creditable draws, the first against Euro '08 qualifiers (and flops) Poland and the second at home to Bosnia-Herzegovina.

If Scotland have not won a game since Burley took over (P3, D2, L1), the quality of the sides we have played - Croatia (1:1, a side that Macedonia, in something of a shock result beat 2:0 in November of last year), Czech Republic (1:3) and Northern Ireland (0:0) - will have given the Scots the tougher work-out, but will it be enough to get a result against a side about which we know very little, and in conditions that do not come naturally to peely-waly Scots. The game will be played in the middle of the afternoon under a blazing sun, with the temperature predicted to rise to a very non-Scottish 34c.

But it's not beyond us.

Our defence looks solid, if not spectacular. Gordon or McGregor are both excellent keepers, Berra and Barr showed promise in the game against Northern Ireland, as did Brown and Thomson (sadly out tomorrow)  in midfield. We'd have liked to have seen O'Connor up front, if only for a bit of height in an otherwise small front line and knock balls down to a poaching striker. It's not to be though: O'Connor is also out, so more likely than not it'll be McFadden and Miller up front. Kenny Miller, back from the brink of eternal Rangers supporters condemnation by scoring twice against arch-rivals Celtic at the weekend should be in good spirits and fired up for the game. But despite Burley's claims that it's partnership that needs time to gel, the time for gelling is over, and this is a game Scotland can ill afford to lose. With group 9 favourites Holland still to come (a team we're not expected to beat), Scotland realistically need to get at least four points from this game and the one against Iceland next week.

We'd love to hear your views - leave a comment with your predictions and opinions of the game.

World Cup 2010 Qualifying Group Nine
Macedonia v Scotland
Venue: City Stadium, Skopje
Date: Saturday, 6 September
Kick-off: 1400 BST
Coverage: Setanta Sports, BBC Radio Scotland and http://macedoniantv.blogspot.com

Scotland U21 3:1 Slovenia U21

Goals from Steven Fletcher and Garry Kenneth took the Scotland's U21's comfortably past the Slovenia U21 side at the Falkirk Stadium last night.  Fletcher scored in the first minute when McCormack threaded the ball through the Slovenian defence allowing the Hibernian striker to fire the ball past Koprivec. The second goal came through Kenneth, reacting first to the rebound from a Charlie Mulgrew's free-kick and it was the Aberdeen defender who set up the third goal: his cross from the left found Fletcher, free from his marker, who headed the ball across the goal and into the net. An excellent evening for Scotland looked to be capped when the Scots where awarded a penalty, but Mulgrew's tame spot kick was easily saved.

Scotland play their final qualifying match against Denmark next week.

Scotland U21: MacDonald, Cuthbert, Considine, Kenneth, Wallace, Arfield, McDonald (Robertson 88), Lennon (Hamill 78), Mulgrew, McCormack, Fletcher (Elliot 88).