Scotland boss Gordon Strachan is relishing the prospect of testing a number of inexperienced players in the competitive environment of next month’s World Cup qualifier against Croatia.
Gordon Greer, Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Jack, Gary Mackay-Steven and Tony Watt could all be in line to earn their first caps in Zagreb on June 7.
The Scots’ hopes of booking their place at the finals in Brazil in 2014 are already over and Strachan is planning for the next campaign.
Speaking as he named a 28-man squad at Hampden on Tuesday, the national team boss said: “The thing about these players, if you look at my squad, not many of them play European football. I’ve got to find out now if they can adjust to the style of European football and everything it entails.
“There is no point waiting for another year. We will find out now and give them the chance.
“We will not make a decision on one game whether they’re going to have an international career but we will give them a chance to sample it.
“We might as well find out now and give them competitive games. Our chance is gone but Croatia will be competitive so the players are coming up against a competitive nation.
“Friendlies are useful, yes, but they don’t have that edge to them and there will be an edge to this game.”
As well as experimenting with some new players, Strachan is also keen to secure a first win of the tournament.
He added: “It’s exciting and I hope it’s exciting for the players we have called in as well. It will be great to have a look at them.
“You look to the future but the immediate future is to get a performance and a victory against Croatia, which will be hard.
“But I look forward to it with the group of players we’ve got.”
Dundee United midfielder Armstrong earned a first call-up after an impressive campaign which saw him pick up the Scottish Football Writers’ young player of the year award on Sunday.
One of the more surprising inclusions was that of Aberdeen youngster Jack.
Strachan said: “To be fair, I’ve seen one or two games, but the decision on Ryan is down to Billy Stark, Stuart McCall and Mark Wotte.
“When I’m picking squads, they come into play. As you see from the squad, they have definitely come into play this time.
“Ryan will be there as a midfield player. It’s an area where we are not over-blessed at the moment.”
As well as the newcomers, there was also a recall for on-loan Hibernian striker Leigh Griffiths, who made his only Scotland appearance so far in a friendly against Luxembourg last year before Strachan took over the hot seat.
Strachan said: “What I’ve definitely got to say to the players is that Croatia are a wee bit different from Luxembourg, that’s for sure. I’m sure Leigh, being the player he is, is looking forward to that challenge of playing against some of the world’s best players.”