Sunderland centre-forward Kevin Kyle could make his full international debut for Scotland in today's friendly against South Africa in Hong Kong.

The 20-year-old, who had the distinction of winning his first cap before making a senior start for his club when he came on as a second half substitute in the 4-1 defeat at the hands of World Cup co-hosts South Korea last Wednesday, is hoping that new Scots coach Berti Vogts - disappointed by the display in Busan - will give him his big chance.

The Stranraer-born forward, once told by the manager of his home town club that he would never make a footballer if he lived to be a hundred, believes that he can emulate the achievement of West Brom striker scott Dobie, who marked his debut with a goal against the Koreans.

Scotland were two goals down when Kyle replaced former Sunderland club-mate Allan Johnston in the 65th minute and he admitted: "It was hard to make my debut in a game where we were struggling, but it was a great honour to have played for my country.

"Some of the lads were quite tired when I came on and I found that when I got the ball I didn't have a lot of options.

"It was a bit of a nightmare for us and the coach wasn't happy at the end."

Kyle has been surprised by the heat and humidity the Scotland squad has experienced in the Far East - the temperature was 26 degrees celsius when they landed in Hong Kong on Friday.

He said: "I couldn't imagine walking very far in that heat never mind playing football for 90 minutes.

"That's why I think Korea and even Japan might do well in the World Cup, though most of the teams in the finals are over here and are now becoming acclimatised to the conditions."

Kyle was one of the surprises in a young Scotland squad picked by Vogts, who is seeking to unearth new blood before the qualifying matches for the next European Championships.

Kyle said: "Scotland are on a bit of a hiding to nothing because we're a young squad and quite inexperienced - and we are playing teams like South Korea and South Africa, who are at their peaks going into the World Cup.

"My only regret is that we're in the side show rather than staying over here for the main event."

After today's game against South Africa Scotland end their tour with another friendly against a Hong Kong XI on Thursday.

Meanwhile, although he finished with only 13 goals in a disappointing season in which he lost his place in the England squad, Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips was runner-up to Premiership Golden Boot winner Thierry Henry in the number of shots on and off target.

As Henry was helping the Gunners to a memorable double, scoring 24 Premiership goals, he had 82 shots on target, while Phillips, whose 12 strikes helped the Wearsiders stave off relegation, had 77 shots on goal.

And while Henry had 68 shots off target, Phillips, according to FA Barclaycard Premiership statistics, put 63 attempts wide of the mark.

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