Scotland (National Football)

If ever a nation was beset with disappointment, it's Scotland. Could a single nation be any unluckier?

Chris Iwelumo missed two golden chances after coming off the bench to make his Scotland debut infront of a packed Hampden Park.

The Wolves striker had earlier stated that his mother was overjoyed after his recall to the Scotland set up but he's let his mother down today.

I don't blame Iwelumo though, I blame George Burley.

Burley started with a 4-3-3, James McFadden, Shaun Maloney and James Morrison formed a three pronged attack.

Apparently.

Who is Burley tying to kid? That was a 4-5-1 at home with McFadden chasing shadows.

We were at home for goodness sake, against a side ranked well below us. If we hadn't been found out before, we certainly have now.

Instead of playing Kris Boyd upfront with James McFadden in the hole, we sat back and said to Norway, we respect you, let's see what you've got.

Scotland had nothing to lose as a draw was a terrible result for us and Burley even said that before the game. So why not go for it?

The non-appearance of Kris Boyd in a game the home side craved a goal is beyond explanation. And replacing McFadden when Barry Robson was clearly tiring?

Boyd and Fletcher upfront with McFadden and Morrison/Maloney on the wings was the way to go for it, with Iwelumo available to be thrown on near the end if we still hadn't scored.

No wonder the players have no confidence, the boss doesn't even believe.

George Burley, you got it wrong.

After a trying week devoid of football, all eyes are on South Africa 2010 as the latest phase of World Cup qualification approaches. With qualification still at it’s infancy, many of the banana-skin matches facing the bigger sides are slightly less daunting then they otherwise may have been, but in the case of France Raymond, the guillotine reportedly awaits no matter what Les Bleus do against Romania.

Bournemouth v Rotherham

We begin this weekend’s preview however at the bottom of the football league where a relegation “six-pointer” takes place at Dean Court.

Due to sanctions from the FA, The Cherries and The Millers started the season on minus 17 points, along with Luton who began on minus thirty points, virtually cutting three sides adrift into a mini-league for survival at the foot of League Two. Yet despite the harsh penalties served on the clubs, Bournemouth and Rotherham started the season with the bit between their teeth, cutting down their deficits to minus 8 and plus one respectively. With both now in contention of being out of the relegation zone by Christmas, huge credit should go to managers Jimmy Quinn and Mark Robins.

With five wins, three draws and only one defeat (all the goals from August & September can be seen here), Rotherham’s form is on par with the pace-setters in the league. And should top-placed Wycombe beat Grimsby away on Saturday, a win for Robin’s men will see them jump another place in the league, and add yet another buffer against the drop.

101 Predicts: Bournemouth 1 – Rotherham 3

Romania v France

If the paper talk is to be believed, after fending off his departure following a dismal European Championships, and then embarrassingly losing 3-1 to Austria, Raymond Domenech must pull off a miracle against Romania to keep hold of his job. With even a win not certain of saving the head coach, the replacements have begun to be lined up, with Robert Pires calling for Arsene Wenger, while Gerrard Houllier is the other name in the hat. (Houllier was the manager in charge of France’s disastrous 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign, who blamed David Ginola and Eric Cantona for failing to to take France to the World Cup in America - the famous 3-2 home defeat to Israel can be seen here.)

In footballing terms, after playing out the worst game of Euro 2008, it is hard to get too excited for Saturday’s rematch. But hopefully more attacking play will be on show, both sides desperate for the win after having only claimed three points after two games, winning and losing a game apiece.

France, who welcome back Patrick Vieira and Franck Ribery, will be spearheaded by the reported Real Madrid target Karim Benzema. While Romania will be looking to the talismen Adrian Mutu and captain Cristi Chivu to help steer them to victory.

101 Predicts: Romania 1 – France 1

Scotland v Norway

The day has long past since Scandinavian football was blossoming, with many of the Norwegian squad now looking like flailing relics of a country without a concrete footballing future. Manager Age Hareide can no-doubt speak about experience in a team comprised with John Carew, John Arne Riise, Eric Nevland, Morten Gamst Pederson and Steffen Iverson, however with no real pace in their side, Scotland can look forward to a physical battle at Hampden Park, which they must believe they can win.

However the Scots will only be quietly optimistic, knowing that the jury is still very much out on George Burley’s Scotland regime. They have not been helped by the withdrawal of Kenny Miller, replaced by Wolves’ Chris Iwelumo, who finds himself battling with Kris Boyd to partner James McFadden up-top. And having lost to Macedonia, Scotland know that this is a “must-win” game if they have any realistic hopes of qualifying from a group that also includes Holland.

101 Predicts: Scotland 2 – Norway 1

Sweden v Portugal

The big game in group one sees Sweden play host to Portugal, with both teams remarkably chasing Albania who currently occupy top spot.

Suffering from the same lull that has encapsulated the whole of Scandinavian football, Sweden at least boasts the best recent amongst their Nordic peers. Sadly however, Henrik Larsson (see some of his amazing recent goals for Helsingborg here), who continuously defies the laws of aging with reports this week claiming up to 15 clubs are looking to sign the 37-year-old once the Allsvenskan season is over, is out with injury. Also absent are Linderoth, Mellberg, Edman, Rosenberg, Svensson and Wilhelmsson, leaving Lars Lagerback pinning all his hopes on Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who has so often failed to turn up on the international stage.

Portugal are also missing some key personal – Deco, Carvalho, AMniche and Simao all sidelined – but with Cristiano Ronaldo returning, Carlos Queiroz should be confident of picking up a valuable away win. Ronaldo has been tipped to play in a more advanced role than usual, with Zenit’s Danny likely to be asked to pull the strings from midfield.

101 Predicts: Sweden 0 – Portugal 2

Bulgaria v Italy

A combination of injuries and deliberate omissions will see Marcelo Lippi play a largely unfamiliar Azzurri side in Sofia, with the culling of the old guard allowing fresh faces to take their chance on the big stage.

Sidelined through injury, Buffon, Pirlo, Camoranesi, Grosso, Materazzi and Iaquinta all miss out. And the end of the international road seems nigh for Del Piero and Cassano, who sat idly by as the striker’s positions were filled out by Villarreal’s Giuseppe Rossi and Udinese’s Simone Pepe. Luca Toni has also paid for Bayern’s poor start, being dropped from the squad.

Having seen the World Champions struggle past Cyprus, Bulgaria will be feeling upbeat of causing an upset. Lead by Dimitar Berbatov and supported by Martin Petrov, the Manchester United striker candidly admitted, “I’m happy Buffon isn’t playing. And I don’t think I’m the only one. He’s Italy’s symbol, the strongest goalkeeper in the world. Let’s call ourselves lucky. I was expecting to see Toni and Del Piero, nobody was thinking about Giuseppe Rossi.”

101 Predicts: Bulgaria 1 – Italy 2

Venezuela v Brazil

The pressure is slightly off Dunga after guiding Brazil up to second in the South American qualification, however the country remains unconvinced about the man in charge, having witnessed a disappointing 0-0 draw at home to last-placed Bolivia, and knowing that their opponents on Saturday night beat them 2-0 for the first time ever in a friendly back in June.

Robinho and Adriano should lead the attack for the Samba boys, but there will likely be a strong emphasis on defence with Gilberto Silva, Josue and Elano due to line up with Kaka in the midfield. This will annoy the passionate locals who crave attacking football, but Dunga will know that with a tricky test in Colombia waiting on Wednesday, the result is the only important factor against Venezuela.

101 Predicts: Venezuela 0 – Brazil 2

For those of you who don't know, James McCarthy is the hottest midfield prospect plying his trade in Britain today. At the tender of 17 he has affirmed himself as one of the best midfielders playing in Scotland, for Hamilton Academicals in the Scottish Premier League. But the SFA and FAI are at loggerheads over James, why?

Teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and a host of other Premiership teams regularly keep track of young James, he has even caught the eye of suitors from Europe such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich.

Such is the attention in James that regular Hamilton fans claim their gate has doubled since he started playing, not down to an increase in fans but an increase in scouts!

James is good. Very, very good.

He made his debut for Hamilton when he was 15, and at the age of 16 had established himself as a fixture in their promotion winning team. Now at 17 he has played around 70 games for the Accies, so you can appreciate that James is somewhat of a prodigy.

He is blessed with strength and power and has a tireless engine. He is a very simple passer of the ball and has found the net on no less than eight occasions. At this stage of his career he is usually compared with Roy Keane.

The problems between the SFA (Scottish Football Association) and the FAI (Football Association of Ireland) arise because James was born in Glasgow, Scotland. But he plays for the Irish underage teams.

McCarthy's grandfather is from Donegal, and it is through his ancestry that he has been able to declare for Ireland. James' grandfather left Ireland in the '30s in search of work. That search eventually brought him to Castlemilk, Glasgow—an Irish enclave in Scotland.

Indeed another famous Glaswegian, Ray Houghton, was also from the same area and he too declared for Ireland. The people of Castlemilk consider themselves Irish and have celebrated everything Irish since the corporation estate was established.

At underage football James' talents began to show and he was left out of many Scottish squads while the SFA selectors dithered over whether he was good enough. But a chance meeting with Irish underage manager Sean McCaffrey would bring McCarthy's talents to the FAI.

A phone-call and a plane flight later McCaffrey found himself sitting in a living room in Castlemilk and the rest is history. Since then James has played at U-17, U-18, U-19 and U-21 level for Ireland, and is widely predicted to be part of Giovanni Trappatoni's squad to face Poland next month.

The reason James is being fast tracked into the senior side is the amorous attention he has received from Terry Butcher (Asst. Manager) and George Burley (Scotland Manager) recently.

James does not have to declare for a country until 21, if he doesn't play a competitive match. Burley and Butcher have both intimated to James that he would be included in future senior squads should he declare for Scotland.

The FAI were thrown into turmoil this week as McCarthy pulled out of the U-21 squad due to face Lithuania. And amid rumours he was about to defect FAI officials sought a meeting with James and his family.

The McCarthy family have been under intense media pressure in Scotland as a result of James' Irish allegiances. With the Daily Record launching a mini campaign against James to get him to declare for the land of his birth. The paper went as far as calling James "a country bumpkin" in an article criticising his decision to play for Ireland.

In claiming a "Player of the Month" award recently, the ceremony turned into a media grilling in which James handled himself very well. "It's at the stage where I just say I'll see what happens to just get them to stop, every time the answer is the same but they just keep asking"

But the FAI's fears that they were about to lose James' prodigious talents were unwarranted as McCarthy released a statement before their meeting. It read...

"James is flattered by the interest shown in him by George Burley in recent weeks with  view to him being selected by Scotland. However, he is now in his third season with the Irish set-up having already represented them at 17s, 18s, 19s and 21s, despite being a month short of his 18th birthday.

"James feels he would be letting too many people down by switching from the Irish at this stage. He is content to end the speculation and concentrate on his club commitments with the Accies."

Indeed McCarthy feels he owes Hamilton manager Billy Reid so much that he has stuck around this season to try and keep them in the league. In an age where players can demand moves at the drop of a hat, young James shows a remarkable level of maturity.

Promising teenagers are a dime a dozen in the modern age, and everyone has heard stories of who's the next big thing only to never hear of them again. But word in football circles are that James has all the necessary tools to succeed.

His grandfather would be proud, almost 100 years since he left the home he loved in search of work, part of his legacy may be about to give something back.

After all, home is where the heart is.

It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster over the past few weeks, with more ups and downs on the Scottish rugby scene than the Dow Jones.

First, we saw Edinburgh put in a storming performance to dispatch Llanelli, while Glasgow failed to beat Irish development side Connacht.

Then off the pitch there was a similar mix of good news/bad news with the announcement of Mike Blair’s place on the short list for IRB Player of the Year, followed soon after by Frank Hadden having his mammoth training squad shrunk a little by PRL’s refusal to release GP-based players.

Blair finds himself in the exalted company of Shane Williams, Ryan Jones, Dan Carter, and Sergio Parisse. Carter’s been very hit-and-miss in the Tri-Nations, and although he did save New Zealand’s blushes on a couple of occasions, I would be surprised if he won.

Williams had a near-perfect Six Nations and although Wales underperformed in their first test vs. the Springboks, he’s the clear bookies' favourite.

My personal (biased) choice for recognition would be Blair, who has been Scotland’s best player for a few years now (sorry, Mossy fans).

Despite Scotland’s relatively poor Six Nations, when given a chance to play his type of rugby in the second Argentina test, he showed what sort of a leader and inspirational player he could be (perhaps in a Lions shirt too?).

So much so that one-time rival Chris Cusiter will (only for the moment, one hopes) have to be satisfied with holding down the Perpignan No. 9 shirt, where he will soon hook up with a certain Mr. D. Carter…

Then last weekend, Edinburgh failed to beat the Dragons (whom Glasgow defeated away from home on the opening day of the season), while Glasgow got their season moving again by beating the Scarlets in some style.

The emergence of the Evans boys as genuine pace merchants is something that should hearten Scottish rugby fans.

Glasgow also competed well against favourites Munster the following weekend, with a conversion the difference that cost them a losing bonus point.

Edinburgh have since followed that up with a narrow defeat to Matt Williams’ Ulster team and are looking at a pretty sluggish start to the season. It seems they miss Ben Cairns and Malkovich more than we thought possible.

Later in the week, we’ll take a look at the world’s premier club tournament, the Heineken Cup.

The UEFA Eurpoean Championships are set to expand to 24 teams by the year 2016. This move, which will be officially put into play when UEFA meets on 26 September, will likely see the addition of two groups during the actual competition.The interesting thing to note is who spearheaded the move.

The Scottish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland called for the expansion last year. Their logic is that they wish to incorporate more of the teams from former Soviet countries. Why now though?

The Scottish FA cheif, Gordon Smith, said that he realizes that this opens up the chance for Ireland and Scottland to qualify easier. However, he also points out that this gives other Home Nations a chance to qualify, but that the call for expansion did not circulate around qualifying.

However, from having a look at both sponsors qualifying history, it seems a bit strange that they would want to do this for anyone other than themselves. I can remember being in my British history class during early qualifying and my friend Jesse was commenting that this might be the year that both Scotland and Ireland are in the Euro's.

It was however, not meant to be. Both teams started out strong in early qualifying and ended up not making it due one or two bad games.

This seems like it's self motivated more than anything. For two teams that have been on the very verge of qualification for sometime now, it is only fathomable that they would want to expand the number of qualifiers to favor themselves.

To say that they are doing this to increase the chance that England will also have a better shot at qualifying also seems a bit suspect. In the tournaments history, England have faild at their qualification campaigns five times out of 16. The records for Ireland and Scotland not qualifying are more than double that.

Should the Euro's be expanded? I'm iffy on the subject. I think if it will truly open up the door for smaller countries to have a shot at the world stage, then sure, expand them. However, I see this as nothing more than a self motivated ploy by the Scottish and Iris FA's to see their names on the scoreboards in 2016.

Much has been made about England’s goalkeeper selection with pretty much only a 37-year-old to choose from.

Well there is no such problem north of the border as Scotland possess two of the best keepers in Europe. Sunderland’s Craig Gordon is the countries number one but he has Rangers Allan McGregor breathing down his neck.

Gordon has been number one since his days at Hearts and it was his performances for Scotland as well as Hearts that earned him that £9 million move to the Barclay’s Premier League last summer.

Allan McGregor has been inspirational for Rangers since Walter Smith returned to the Ibrox hot seat and he was one of the main reasons Rangers were challenging on four fronts last season. Sadly an injury picked up against Celtic saw him miss the title run in as well as the Scottish and UEFA Cup finals.

This season he was linked with Barcelona, Newcastle United and Aston Villa as Rangers crashed out of Europe and it was rumoured he’d be sold to balance the books. In the end though it was Carlos Cuellar that moved on and Rangers kept a hold of their prized number one.

McGregor is also somewhat of a penalty specialist having saved one for club and country this season already.

Thursday night saw a third name added to the illustrious list.

Motherwell’s Graeme Smith was sensational against Nancy in the UEFA Cup. Motherwell were away to France’s surprise package of last season and needed a strong performance from their number one.

The 25-year-old went one better and kept Motherwell in the game with a string of important saves including a penalty and a last minute one on one stop. Well went down 1-0 but have every chance to overturn that score line at Fir Park in the return leg.

The best compliment that could be thrown Smith’s way is that he is very similar to Craig Gordon and I honestly thought I was watching the Sunderland keeper against Nancy.

National boss George Burley will have taken notice (as well as a host of English scouts) and expect to see the former Rangers youngster in the next Scotland squad.

Funnily enough, Rangers current third choice keeper is also called Graeme Smith. So much for John Smith being the most recurring name on the National register!

Scotland may only have one lion but at least they have three fantastic keepers.

Photo from www.telegraph.co.uk

Who would you say is the best football team in the world? Spain? Italy? Argentina? Well, prepare to be surprised. The best football team in the world is...Sweden!

That is according to the Unofficial Football World Championships. Instead of the traditional FIFA rankings, the UFWC works on a game by game basis. If you beat the holders of the Unofficial World Championship, you become the champion.

It all started back in 1967, a year after England won the World Cup. They met the auld enemy—Scotland—in a match in the British Home Championship, and were the overwhelming favourites.

England had not lost a game since the World Cup, and were considered perhaps the best in the world, yet alone Britain.

But, somehow, Scotland managed to topple to mighty England. Some fans touted Scotland as the "Unofficial World Champions", and the UFWC was born.

Having this idea, people traced it all the way back to the birth of international football, between England and Scotland.

From 1872 to 1931, the UFWC passed between England, Scotland, and occasionally Wales and Ireland (later to become Northern Ireland).

In 1931, a shock result saw Austria become the first non-British side to claim the UFWC title. It was back in Britain soon enough. In 1950, England took the title into the World Cup, where their shock loss to USA saw it move to the Americas for the very first time.

During it's time there, it was captured by lowly Netherlands Antilles, which still remains the smallest country to have ever held the title, albeit for just four days.

The Soviet Union took the title into the 1966 World Cup, but England took it out, which meant that the England vs. Scotland match did turn out to be an actual UFWC match.

Through the next 20 years it was mostly in South America, with the likes of Argentina, Brazil and even Peru.

Short spells for the title in Australia and South Korea, and, in 2003, Africa, ensured that the title had travelled to every competing continent.

Recently, Georgia, Scotland, Italy, Hungary, Turkey and Greece have had spells as the Unofficial World Champions (Italy to add to their official title in 2006).

Then, on September 10th, 2008, then holders Hungary lost 2-1 to Sweden, giving the Swede's their sixth reign as Champions. It may not last long, however, as they have Portugal up next, in under a month's time.

Portugal would be looking for their first reign as Unofficial World Champions. But, for now, here's to the best team in the world—Sweden!

Scotland have come away from Iceland with a precious victory, but it wasn't for the want of trying.

There was plenty of pressure on George Burley and his men to get the win that Scotland badly needed tonight, and it was a huge relief to see them run out 2-1 winners in Reykjavik.

Burley made three changes to the side that lost in Skopje 1-0 to Macedonia with Graeme Alexander and Kenny Miller missing out after recovering from Saturday's knocks and Paul Hartley was dropped.

Kirk Broadfoot and Kris Commons came in for their first starts—with Shaun Maloney adding the attacking bite missing on Saturday.

As we gathered in the pub, we couldn't help but feel nervous.

This was it, win or bust. My proud South African homecoming was on the line.

In Scottish football history, I'm sure you don't need reminding of the usually less than fairytale ending.

Luckily for us beer-guzzling Scots, we got the start that we should have managed in Skopje by scoring early on.

Good play by Kirk Broadfoot down the right resulted in a Scottish corner that was duly turned in by that man Broadfoot, with a brilliant glancing header.

I must admit we didn't know whether to laugh or cheer as the lanky defender spun away in celebration. The Rangers defender is the "butt" of many jokes for his style on the pitch, and is even ridiculed by many Rangers fans.

So for the big lad to score on his debut, after having just listened to 18 minutes of "he's not a footballer's arse", during which he'd already got himself booked, brought about much hilarity.

It was just what we all needed and we relaxed into the comfort zone of a 1-0 lead.

James McFadden was denied a stone wall penalty against Macedonia on Saturday but tonight he had a bit more luck. The Birmingham City forward brought the ball down well in the box before being what would best be described as uprooted!

The most shocking thing about the tackle was that the Icelanders actually complained about it.

McFadden picked himself up to miss the penalty, but luckily it rebounded off the keeper back into the path of three Scotland players who'd clearly learnt their "following up" lesson from Skopje.

Barry Robson and James McFadden fought tooth and nail to get the finishing touch, with both ball and Robson ending up nestled in the net. The goal was eventually credited to McFadden, but it was definitely a team effort.

So, 2-0 up and home and dry.

Erm, well no, we are Scotland after all.

Just as I turned to my mate Mark to tell him that this was one hell of a crap game and  I couldn't believe there was still 15 minutes to go, Iceland had a penalty.

Oh and Scotland were down to 10 men!

Well I did ask for it.

A long cross into the back post had Scotland captain Alan McManus scrambling to get the clearing header.

Sadly, the big defender had his arms in the air and slapped the ball behind. It was clear as day. McManus claimed he was pushed and he may well have been, but that is part of the game.

Simply put, he shouldn't have had his hands anywhere near the ball.

Eidor Gudjohnsen of Barcelona converted the spot kick, to make the last 10 minutes a nightmare.

Thankfully, Scotland held on for the vital three points and the road to South Africa is looking just a little clearer.

Well done to George Burley for making the changes. A couple of bold decisions (Broadfoot and Commons) at a time when he knew a mistake could cost him his job.

It's been a difficult week for Scotland, but we've taken three points from two away games and that can't be sniffed at I suppose. Things are looking up.

All our home games are in front of us, and we have a new national hero:

Mr. Kirk Broadfoot.

I'm absolutely furious right now.

My country has let me down again, and boy it hurts.

Macedonia were always going to be tough opposition but we couldn't have helped them any more.

This was meant to be Scotland's glorious World Cup campaign with only Holland standing in our way, but, in reality, we played like the bumbling Scotland of old and probably didn't deserve to win.

They could at least have earned us a point.

The defeat leaves us staring down the barrel as far as World Cup qualifying group nine is concerned, and we are already left hoping other countries will do us favours over the next year.

Scotland were missing Alan Hutton, Barry Ferguson, Davie Weir, Kevin Thomson and James Morrison in the heat of Skopje, but it was Italy all over again as Scotland handed Macedonia the lead inside five minutes.

An indirect free kick routine led to a Macedonian blast that Graig Gordon did well to tip onto the post, but Scotland were left standing as Ilca Naumoski swept home the rebound.

I could debate all day about whether it was actually a free kick, but the defending deserved to be punished.

The Scots continued to struggle for the whole first half and were lucky not to find themselves two down after a long ball caught the Scotland defence sleeping. Gary Caldwell's last ditch tackle certainly was spectacular, but why it was needed nobody knows.

The nerves were clear for all to see.

Scotland improved after half time and were by far the better side. The chances, howeve,r kept falling Macedonia's way and it was Graig Gordon who'll walk away with any Scottish man of the match award. He was outstanding today and saved us time after time.

The introduction of Kris Commons and Shaun Maloney finally sparked Scotland into the force we know they can be. Macedonia didn't get out there own half after 60 minutes and Scotland played some quality attacking football, but this was never going to be our day.

Misplaced final pass after misplaced final pass resulted in a lack of chances, but how we didn't get a goal I don't know.

As a team, we promise so much, but we are Scotland and we'll always disappoint in the end.

There was one major talking point late on when the referee somehow missed two Scotland penalty claims in the space of two seconds.

First Miller was felled in the box with a clear trip with the ball falling to McFadden, who was instantly pole axed by the Macedonian keeper.

It was as clear as the Macedonian sky that Scotland had been done. The referee waved the protests away and with it our vital World Cup qualifying point.

The final whistle may not have ended Scotland's hopes of World Cup qualification but we are on our way to accident and emergency in Skopje tonight.

So what went wrong then?

Well who died and made Gary Caldwell the Scotland playmaker for a start?

The big centre back kicked the ball away all game. He was pretty good defensively but win the ball and lay it to the midfield. How hard is that?

There were three Celtic players in the midfield today along with Darren Fletcher and only Barry Robson made any kind of impact.

Scott Brown flatters to deceive and his lack of form must be alarming to Celtic fans as well as the Scotland management. A couple of strong runs for 90 minutes work is not good enough!

Paul Hartley was exposed today. Against better teams he works tirelessly winning the ball and laying it off. That's what he's good at but against teams like Macedonia he finds himself with time on the ball and he doesn't know what to do with it.

He was giving it back to bloody Gary Caldwell!

Darren Fletcher you are not Paul Scholes and you never will be. I love his heart and passion for the cause but I'd like to see it in a Scotland shirt. Not a wannabe Paul Scholes. How many times are you going to blame someone else for your poor pass?

Things weren't much better up front with our headless pair of James McFadden and Kenny Miller who managed about one shot between them.

We need an out an out striker for McFadden to play off. Miller was nowhere to be seen and certainly not in a goal scoring position.

As for McFadden, when your in the box, just shoot, will you.

You're costing your team!

Well done to Kris Commons, who impressed when he came on and I'll be expecting Maloney to start in Iceland on Wednesday night.

I'll be back down the pub then, hoping the hospital in Skopje has performed a miracle but I may well just be setting myself up for yet more heartache.

But while there is a chance we will follow and we will support.

After all, that's what the Tartan Army is all about.

Come on, Scotland!

If truth be told it was quite an interesting night of international football and none more so than at Wembley where England struggled yet again.

The Czech Republic made for stiff opposition and Milan Baros opened the scoring for the visitors. England were as usual far from any sort of form but managed an equaliser through an unusual source before half time.

Wes Brown was the hero as he sent England down the tunnel at least level after a difficult first half.

An inspirational half time speech from Fabio Capello then? I hope not as within three minutes England were down again as Junkulovski struck the Czech's back into the lead.

Just when it looked like all was lost for England though Chelsea midfielder Joe Cole saved the day with a late late leveller.

A 2-2 draw is far from the worst friendly result but England will need to improve ahead of the World Cup qualifiers.

Not what John Terry was hoping for anyway!

Scotland took on Northern Ireland at Hampden in an old style "home international." The crowd was in good voice with 6,000 fans travelling across from Ireland making for a great atmosphere.

No goals at Hampden but some great football and a few interesting talking points.

First there was a sending off. Not really what friendlies are all about.

Ireland's young left back Ryan McGivern was sent off for a second yellow for pulling down Scott Brown in full flight. A tad harsh on the youngster but the rules are the rules and the Danish official waved away the protests as he produced the red card.

Moment's later Northern Ireland had a penalty. Alan McGregor clattering Warren Feeney when through on goal and the sub keeper was lucky himself to stay on the park.

Luckily for Scotland though, he did!

The Rangers keeper dived to his right to deny David Healy with a brilliant save!

Overall it was a very good game with both teams blooding promising youngsters ahead of next months qualifiers.

I'd have liked to see Scotland go for it with Kris Boyd but George Burley chose to hand out experience in the defense and with David Weir hobbling off with a hamstring it may come in useful in Macedonia.

Scotland still can't win a friendly at home but I'm happy with the result.

Elsewhere Argentina were held to a goalless draw in Belarus. Considering Scotland have recently chosen not to play the South Americans as they charge £1m a game. Belarus must be skint!

The Republic of Ireland drew 1-1 in Norway. Liverpool new boy Robbie Keane continuing his great international form with the first goal. Reginiussen equalized for Norway.

Other results:

Russia 1-1 Netherlands

Denmark 0-3 Spain

Italy 2-2 Austria (Austria scored three of the four goals.)

Germany 2-0 Belgium

Sweden 2-3 France