Heat is on for Scotland

Published:

SFA chief executive Gordon Smith acknowledged that his Macedonian counterparts have been awkward to deal with after Scotland’s opening World Cup qualifier was brought forward to a 3pm kick-off in the Skopje heat.

Smith said Scotland did not want to play away in their first match – on September 6 – but the Macedonian authorities threatened to tear up the fixture list if their demands were not met.

Team manager George Burley now faces a tricky double-header on the road for his first two competitive matches in charge, with Iceland to follow four days later in Reykjavik.

Smith said: “The fixtures were already set with Macedonia being the first game at Hampden when they said they were going to withdraw from the meeting unless they got their first game at home.

“They were very awkward at that moment and they did the same with Norway.”