Scotland fear opening act

One of the more colourful phrases surviving from the last World Cup meeting of Brazil and Scotland is on the verge of being rendered redundant for today's big game in the Stade de France.

Asked how he proposed to deal with the threat of Caesar, a celebrated member of the Brazilian team which made an unsuccessful defence of the trophy in Germany in 1974, the late lamented Billy Bremner is reported to have said: "I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him".

Not everybody was convinced that the Scottish firebrand was speaking figuratively, but those of his successors in the dark blue shirt taking similar thoughts into this return meeting may be well advised to forget it.

Just as was the case in America in 1994, when Jack Charlton accused football's law-makers of taking leave of their senses, Craig Brown, the Scottish manager, is fearful of the consequences of the indiscreet tackle from behind.

"Some officials have been sounding off about what defenders can't do, but to this point nobody has told us what they can do in the tackle - and that worries me," says Brown.

"Here we are, 24 hours before the start of the World Cup finals, still talking and worrying about the interpretation of the rules governing the tackle. I'm not alone when I say that it's unfair on players, managers and, of course, referees."

If tradition is upheld, the tackle will be watched with hawk-like attention by the Spanish referee, Jose Manuel Garcia-Aranda, for the evidence of the last two finals is that the letter of the law tends to be applied in the opening game.

Perhaps, that is one of the reasons Brown packed his squad with central defenders, or those capable of playing there, when he applied himself last week to the task of naming his final 22. The big men at the back are normally most at risk for collecting dreaded red cards, but if the worst comes to the worst for either Colin Hendry or Tommy Boyd today, Brown's disappointment will at least be cushioned by the fact that he has at his disposal some adequate replacements.

Curiously, Hendry was one of the players singled out by Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo yesterday when he held court on the Scots' main assets in their attempt to rid themselves of a deplorable record in the World Cup finals.

"They have an excellent sweeper in Colin Hendry and know how to counter-attack when the occasion presents itself," he said. "We are preparing ourselves for a difficult day against a team who play differently to us."

If FIFA's crackdown on the wayward tackle is unlikely to be a cause of concern for the athletic South Americans, there are still several problems on Zagallo's horizon. Already resigned to the loss of Romario and Marcio Santos, he almost lost Aldair, his trusty defender, yesterday.

However, following a late training session in the afternoon, Zagallo surprisingly revealed the full back will face Scotland. Zagallo originally announced Goncalves would replace Aldair, who didn't train yesterday due to sore leg muscles, a similar problem which has also left first choice replacement Andre Cruz sidelined. However, Zagallo said: "Aldair is 100 per cent."

Zagallo was upbeat when he took his team to the Stade de France yesterday to familiarise themselves with conditions there at match time this afternoon. Normally, the loss of a player of Romario's talent would be fatal. Yet the champions' reserves of talent are such that when Zagallo pairs Bebeto with Ronaldo, as he surely will, it is highly unlikely to blunt their cutting edge.

How Scotland must wish for resources of those levels. Kevin Gallacher and Gordon Durie have on occasions performed well at the front of their team, but only the most reckless would back them for a lot of goals in the kind of company they will keep today.

Further back, the likelihood is that Paul Lambert and Billy McKinley will be deployed in holding roles in midfield, with the adaptable Monaco player John Collins deployed in the space between midfield and attack.

In seven previous appearances in the World Cup finals, the Scots have never got beyond the first phase. In that time they have won just four of the 20 games they played in the finals and it will be nothing short of sensational if they succeed in improving that appalling record now.

Even Craig Brown, one suspects, is preparing for a damage limitation exercise in the hope of picking up points against both Norway and Morocco. In that situation, it's reasonable to assume that the flow of traffic today will nearly always be in the direction of Jim Leighton's goal.

Brazil: Taffarel; Cafu, Junior Baiano, Aldair, Carlos; Dunga (capt), Cesar Sampaio, Giovanni, Leonardo; Bebeto, Ronaldo.

Scotland: Leighton; Calderwood, Hendry, Boyd; Burley, Jackson, Lambert, Collins, Dailly; Gallacher, Durie.