After the disappointment of failing to secure a play-off place for EURO2012, Scotland have qualification for the 2014 World cup to prepare for. Their group includes, Wales, Croatia, Serbia, Belgium and Macedonia. While some of the players will be unfamiliar, at least one player will be a well known face in the opposition ranks. Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley is hoping he can regain his place in the team which will be pitched against Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers. This will allow him to line up against some of his club team mates. Ledley, who missed Wales final EURO2012 games against Switzerland and Bulgaria with a groin injury, feels manager Gary Speed is getting the best out of his players. As Wales have flair players such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey playing key roles in recent games, Ledley believes Wales have everything to look forward to. Wales are the bottom seeds in the group but they could take points off any team in the section if they continue to improve as in recent games.
Ledley said: "I think Gary Speed is a great manager and he's doing things right at international level. I think we have got a good future ahead of us. I'm looking forward to playing against Scotland. The last time I played against them we had a good victory so hopefully we can do that again."
Ledley sees parallels between the impacts Speed and Scotland manager Craig Levein have had on the morale of their respective squads. The former Cardiff player said: "Gary has brought in good staff as well, it's not just the manager. It took us a while to get going but I think we found a step up now and we know the formation and our strengths. I think Scotland are a great team. "They will be disappointed they didn't qualify but you can see the potential when they play."