News

Levein anticipates tough test against Australia

Monday, 06 August 2012

Vauxhall International Challenge Match
Scotland v Australia
Wednesday 15 August 2012, kick-off 8 pm
Easter Road Stadium, Edinburgh

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Scotland national coach Craig Levein anticipates a tough test against Australia as preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifiers reaches its final stages.

Speaking at Easter Road as he announced his squad for next Wednesday's Vauxhall International Challenge Match at the home of Hibernian, Levein said:

"The Australians will present a test similar to that of British teams such as Wales, who we will, of course, be playing against in the upcoming campaign.

"Easter Road is an outstanding venue which will provide a great atmosphere for the players.

"Having the game in Edinburgh offers supporters from the East of the country easy access to what is Scotland's first match on home soil in almost a year."

With Craig Mackail-Smith out with a back injury and Kenny Miller unavailable, opportunities for players such as Jordan Rhodes, Jamie Mackie and Steven Naismith to impress are there.

Levein said: "We have very good attacking options, including Jordan Rhodes, but I haven't yet decided on my starting line-up," revealed Levein.

"We will be playing the same system as before but I will be looking for a much improved performance level than the USA match in May.

"We will be looking to atone for that defeat."

As the opening FIFA World Cup 2014 World Cup Qualifiers against Serbia and Macedonia approach, Levein said the Australia match is a crucial stage in the build-up process.

"It will be good to get the campaign underway but this match with Australia is very important in the preparation," he added.

"I believe we have a squad full of players with quality who play their club football at a high level.

"They will enjoy playing on Scottish soil for the first time in almost a year."

"I hope the fans turn up in their numbers at Easter Road because they have an important part to play in our attempts at restoring the feel-good factor to Scottish football."

Scotland squad:

Charlie Adam (Liverpool)   

Barry Bannan (Aston Villa)   

Phil Bardsley (Sunderland)   

Christophe Berra (Wolverhampton Wanderers)   

Gary Caldwell (Wigan Athletic)   

Don Cowie (Cardiff City)   

Graham Dorrans (West Bromwich Albion)   

James Forrest (Celtic)   

Daniel Fox (Southampton)    

Matt Gilks (Blackpool)                      

Grant Hanley (Blackburn Rovers)   

Alan Hutton (Aston Villa)   

Jamie Mackie (Queens Park Rangers)   

Shaun Maloney (Wigan Athletic)   

David Marshall (Cardiff City)   

Russell Martin (Norwich City)   

Allan McGregor (Besiktas)   

James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion)

Charlie Mulgrew (Celtic)

Steven Naismith (Everton)

Matt Phillips (Blackpool)

Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town)

Robert Snodgrass (Norwich City)

Andy Webster (Heart of Midlothian)