Slovenia Scotland Odds : Craig Levein rings changes as Scots build for future
Scotland manager Craig Levein named seven English-born players in his squad to play Slovenia this week, drawing much criticism from both the Scottish media and the English Football Association.
But Levein insists his decision, which included a first call up for Blackpool midfielder Matt Phillips, will benefit the team in the long run. Phillips was later forced to pull out with a hamstring injury.
Having missed out on qualification for Euro 2012, Scotland must now turn their attentions to Brazil 2014, with the chance to play a World Cup in one of the most passionate footballing countries.
They travel to Slovenia to play an international friendly on Wednesday night, with Levein hoping to get a good look at some of the younger players coming through.
Indeed, the Scots have been in decent form of late, losing just one of their last six games across both competitive and friendly matches.
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Their last three international fixtures have been away games, with a win against Cyprus being their latest result. Defeat to Spain followed their 1-0 win in Liechtenstein.
Positioned 27th in the latest FIFA rankings, Slovenia are 21 places above Scotland, but go into the game having won just two of their last six games.
Defeat to the USA in their last outing came after they had beaten Serbia at home, with a 1-0 defeat to Italy before that.
However, with their superior ranking and a raucous home support, Slovenia will no doubt go into this game as favourites, with Scotland the underdogs.
On the injury front, Scotland have a number of concerns with Matt Phillips having already dropped out with the aforementioned hamstring problem.
Sunderland’s Phil Bardsley has also been forced to withdraw with a suspected tear in his calf, while Celtic midfielder Scott Brown will miss the game with a groin injury.
Wigan midfielder James McArthur has been added to the squad in place of Brown, but there have been no other call-ups.
