Scotland's other national squad gathered at Edinburgh airport tonight ahead of 11 hours travelling time before they land in Israel for their EURO2013 qualifying game against their host on Wednesday 12 October. Coach Anna Singeul and her charges looked relaxed as they greeted each other and the travelling party of SFA officials before booking in. The tracksuits and short sleeved t-shirts may have looked incongruous in a chilly Edinburgh but will fit in well in the 32 degree heat of Israel. Not all the squad were at the airport as Kim Little and Jennifer Beattie from Arsenal will link up with the squad at Heathrow while Ifeoma Dieke and Frankie Brown will be making their way to Israel from their base with Apollon Limassol.
The game on Wednesday will kick-off at 12:00 (10:00 BST) before the real heat of the day hits the small Ness Ziona Municipal Stadium. There will be little in the way of shade as the ground has only a single small stand to afford any protection. With a couple of days to prepare for playing in the heat, the team have been well warned about the dangers of too much sun and maintaining their fluid levels. Singeul was not that worried about the early start or the heat.
She said: "I think that will be fine. We are quite used to an early start. Every time we train and we are abroad we train around 11 till 1 o'clock so the time of the day in terms of being ready for the game I think that is OK. The heat will be a challenge but we are very well prepared. The good thing is they love a suntan but we will try to be smart in terms of being in the sun the day before the game." Despite the concerns over the heat, Singeul does not plan to change the way Scotland usually play. She went on: "I think we just go for it from the start. I think we are much fitter than them. I think also that we can play a much faster game. We are not planning on saving anything. If we get tired in the second half we go for it."
Asked who Scotland should be wary of in the Israel team, Singeul said: "They have a couple of good midfielders, a good striker and good goalkeeper. A lot of their squad comes from ASA Tel-Aviv who were playing Torres in the Champions League and they scored two goals (away but lost the last 32 tie 5-2 on aggregate) and most of them have played two competitive games. We really have to be at the top of our game. We cannot take anything for granted just because they are the lowest ranked in the group. Every team is getting better and better. I will be reminding the team that you have to work hard for everything, for every single minute of the game. There can be no complacency"