Young Scots ready to face ‘future superstars’
SCOT GEMMILL has warned his Scotland Under-21s they are facing a Belgium team full of future superstars this evening. Their senior side are the top FIFAranked team in world football and boast icons like Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku. At Under-21s level, players like captain Amadou Onana of Lille, Genk goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt and top scorer Lois Openda of Vitesse represent the next generation, and have made a perfect start to European Championship qualification by winning all five of their matches to date. But Gemmill is urging his players to relish the prospect of going toe-to-toe with some of the finest young footballers on the continent at Tannadice. The head coach, whose Scots sit third in Group I with four points from three games, said: ‘It’s going to be very tough and there will be some future superstars playing for Belgium, no doubt about it. ‘But that’s exactly what we want for our players. ‘There is so much work goes into trying to beat a team like Belgium, but I’m looking forward to helping them try to do it.’ The Scots beat Kazakhstan 2-1 at Tannadice last Friday with goals from Manchester City kid Lewis Fiorini and Rangers’ Glenn Middleton, who is on loan at St Johnstone. But a mix-up between keeper Archie Mair and Josh Doig allowed the visitors to net a consolation and Gemmill warned there can be no similar lapse against a Belgium side who have scored 11 goals in their five qualifiers. He said: ‘That is the challenge, absolutely, to cut out the mistakes. It would have been fantastic to keep a clean sheet against Kazakhstan. ‘Our last Under-21s team conceded very few goals and still didn’t qualify. ‘So in terms of qualification, it’s very tough if you don’t keep clean sheets.’ After watching his side squander a host of chances against the Kazakhs, skipper Middleton wants Scotland to show a sharper edge against Belgium. ‘It was a comfortable win but we need to finish more chances because we’re not going to get as many against Belgium,’ said Middleton. Part of a St Johnstone side who will face Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup semi final at Hampden on Saturday, the 21-year-old added: ‘The goal against Kazakhstan was a bit of a relief for me. I’ve been working really hard on the training pitch in terms of finishing. ‘Hopefully it all comes together in the next few weeks and I can keep the momentum going. I have to make an impact this season.’