Photo courtesy of Scottish FA
Chicago Fire midfielder Shaun Maloney on Wednesday made the first of two likely appearances for the Scottish National Team during the current FIFA international window. Maloney started in an attacking central midfield role and played the first 45 minutes of his side’s 1-0 victory over Northern Ireland in an international friendly.
Maloney was on the creating end of one of Scotland’s best scoring opportunities during his 45 minutes on the pitch, threading a pass through the Northern Ireland back line to set up teammate Darren Fletcher just moments before the halftime whistle (pictured).
Scotland went on to win the match thanks to an 85th-minute header by Christophe Berra. Afterward, Scotland manager Gordon Strachan named Maloney as one of several of his men who were eager to perform their national team duties despite great distances traveled or heavy workloads for their club sides.
"He has just flown in from California," said Strachan of Maloney, as reported by the Herald Scotland. "You say to him: 'Do you want a wee rest?' But he's not interested. I said the same thing to Steven Naismith because he's been doing a lot of playing and traveling in the Europa League with Everton. He was in Kiev last week and then away to QPR at the weekend."
Naismith entered the match as a halftime substitute for Maloney. The match is available to watch in its entirety via ESPN3.com.
Maloney, who earned his 38th career cap in the match, is slated to again feature for Scotland when it faces Gibraltar in UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying action Sunday, March 29, before returning to the Men In Red in time for the April 4 contest with Toronto FC.
Meanwhile, a second Fire Designated Player, David Accam, has joined his Ghanaian national side as the Black Stars prepare for friendlies against Senegal (March 27) and Mali (March 31). The matches are being played in Le Havre and Paris, France, respectively.
