Scotland’s manager, Berti Vogts, has called on his players to prove they have what it takes to compete on the international stage and back up his claims that that the run of defeats which characterised the early days of his reign were meaningless. The then-world champions demolished Scotland 5-0 to begin a win-less run of games which was halted last month with back-to-back victories over Iceland and Canada. Those successes boosted confidence levels within the squad that had been dangerously low following the draw in the Faroe Islands in September.Comparisons between the Paris game and tonight’s test against the 11th-best team in the world were inevitable but Vogts was quick to dismiss the French defeat, and subsequent losses to Nigeria, South Korea and South Africa last season, as nothing but experimental exercises.He said: “My first match was against the Danish side in August, not the match against France. And the tour to the Far East, that was not the Scottish national team. We played very badly against Denmark but after the second half in the Faroes I think the progress started.

I am looking for a good result, good entertainment and a good performance from my team I am very happy with the players and with the situation. The players are always doing so well in the training sessions.”Vogts’ preparations for the game have included making the players watch video tapes of moments in the Canada game where the German felt his instructions were not being carried out to the letter.West Ham’s Christian Dailly had played in midfield in that game and, with the first choice central midfielder Barry Ferguson out injured, remains there. That allows Aberdeen’s Russell Anderson to pick up his third cap and form a relationship in a three-man defence with Steven Pressley and Lee Wilkie in front of the goalkeeper, Robert Douglas. Nicolas Anelka looks likely to escape a threatened suspension following his refusal to play for France after it emerged that the French Football Federation may itself have broken Fifa regulations. A Fifa spokesman said: “We have heard nothing officially as yet about this case and there is nothing we can say or do.”The FFF apparently weakened its case by failing to call up Anelka in the right manner and with 15 days’ advance notice, although that loophole would not alone be enough to undermine its case. High-level discussions went on within the FFF last night and it is expected to drop its demands for action to be taken against Anelka rather than escalate the problem.

The Football Association was in contact with the FFF about the issue yesterday and is taking a back seat in the matter.Anelka’s refusal to play for France against Yugoslavia at the Stade de France tonight took on a new aspect when the striker’s representatives revealed there was bad blood between him and the FFF. Whatever the outcome of this case, it is unlikely that France will call on the City striker in the near future.Leading members of the FFF fear a war of words with Anelka and that he will name officials whom he thinks wronged him with a whispering campaign at the time when he wanted to join Liverpool.Zinedine Zidane is almost certain to miss tonight’s match. The world’s most expensive player has been struggling with a back injury and the France coach, Jacques Santini, has called up Monaco’s Ludovic Giuly as cover.Other signifcant absentees from the French squad include the striker David Trezeguet, who is nursing an injured knee, and the veteran defender Bixente Lizarazu, who was dropped.To add to Santini’s injury worries in midfield, Patrick Vieira is nursing an ankle problem, so Sochaux’s Benoit Pedretti received a first call-up.. Keep it simple – that was the message from Sven Goran Eriksson’s deputy, Tord Grip, as the pair put a makeshift England squad through a full-scale practice match on Ryman League territory yesterday. “I think that was the best performance since Sven and I came to work for England,” he said. “We have to get back to that, to be disciplined and play it simple.”I think that’s how we should play, even against countries like Slovakia, Macedonia and Liechtenstein [all in England's Euro 2004 qualifying group], because we need to play to our strengths.”For the 11-a-side work-out at Aylesbury United’s ground, Eriksson deployed Steven Gerrard in what appeared to be his first-choice midfield quartet. The player’s was publicly criticised last week by his manager at Liverpool, G?rd Houllier, who also dropped him from his team.Michael Dawson, the Nottingham Forest central defender, was surprisingly called up to face Michael Owen and Emile Heskey in the “second” team less than 24 hours after he turned 19.