SCOTLAND manager George Burley believes his team's World Cup prospects look brighter after Norway's emphatic defeat at the hands of Wales.
The new Scotland manager took in Wednesday night's friendly in Wrexham which Wales won 3-0 and is looking forward to his side taking on the Norwegians in October. The 11 October clash will be Scotland's first home game in their 2010 qualifying campai
gn, following trips to Macedonia and Iceland.
Jason Koumas scored twice in the Welsh victory last night, and Burley said: "I came away from the match thinking we had nothing to fear about them. It was only a friendly and I'm sure our game with them will be different but this gave me a good idea about some of the things they are about."
Meanwhile, another of Scotland's World Cup rivals were looking far more impressive as the Netherlands won 3-0 in Croatia.
The defeat by fellow Euro 2008 finalists in Split came as a rude awakening for Slaven Bilic's men. Tipped as potential dark horses for Austria and Switzerland, Croatia, who provide Burley's first opposition in next month's Hampden friendly, performed like also-rans.
Sublime passing and control by the Dutch tore Croatia apart in the first half as Ajax pair John Heitinga and Klaas Jan Huntelaar gave the visitors a 2-0 lead. A clinical finish from Celtic striker Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink settled the match in the second half.
"I think people will take notice of this," said the Netherlands coach Marco van Basten.
The full article contains 257 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
