Hibs do not provide any players for the Scotland A squad at the moment. For the men anyway. However, they do provide the backbone to the women's A squad . A total of nine of their players will be in the Scotland women’s squad to take on Australia in a friendly international at Almondvale today (kick-off 12:00). In preparation for the men's EURO2004 game against the Faroes, you could do worse than call in at the City Stadium and cheer on the other national team. Hibs women's coach Ian Johnston’s newest signing, former Brighton goalkeeper Gemma Fay, joined her Capital colleagues in the first of three friendly internationals before the European qualifying match with the Czech Republic on October 19. Joining Fay will be Stacey Cook, Mandy Burns, Kirsty McBride, Suzanne Malone, Suzy Robertson, Pauline Hamill, Julie Ralph and Marlene Pearson.
 | Coach Vera Pauw |
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The game will be tough with Australia sitting 15 places above Scotland in the world rankings. The Australians are said to be a physical side who play at a high tempo. However, Scotland coach Vera Pauw insists the challenge is what her team need most. She said: "It will be a great test to see how close we are to them. Strong opposition is always good preparation for us and if we play high-rating sides we will improve very quickly. Friendlies are a great way of finding out what you have to work on. They give players and managers a lot of information of areas which need improvements."
Full Scotland's squad: Michell Barr, Mandy Burns, Stacey Cook, Gemma Fay, Julie Ferguson, Julie Fleeting, Mhair Gilmour, Suzanne Grant, Pauline Hamill, Claire Johnston, Joanne Love, Kirsty McBride, Debbie McWhinnie, Suzanne Malone, Marlene Pearson, Julia Ralph, Julie Smith, Megan Sneddon.
Next Fixture: v Italy, Tuesday, September 9, at Almondvale, kick-off 7.30pm.
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