CRAIG Gordon last night tipped Sunderland team-mate Ross Wallace to be a surprise inclusion in Alex McLeish's squad for Scotland's European Championships qualifiers with Ukraine and Georgia.

McLeish will name his 23-man squad tomorrow afternoon as Scotland prepare for two of the biggest games in their recent history following last month's memorable victory in France.

The Scots top Group B ahead of both Italy and France, and with just three qualifying games remaining - the final match sees Italy visit Hampden Park on November 17 - seven more points will guarantee a place at next summer's finals in Austria and Switzerland.

Wallace is yet to figure in a full international squad, although he did make four Under-21 appearances during his time with Celtic.

And with the versatile midfielder having started all eight of Sunderland's Premier League matches this season, Gordon claims it is time for his team-mate to make the step up to the senior Scotland stage.

"I wouldn't have thought that Ross would be far away from a call-up," said the Sunderland shot-stopper, who won his 26th cap at the Parc des Princes last month. "He's had a really good start to the season, right from putting in the cross that led to the goal against Tottenham (on the opening day).

"I'm sure he won't be too far away from the next few Scotland squads and, if he was to be called up, he'd fully deserve his chance. If he's performing at the level he is, I'm sure he'll be interesting the manager."

Wallace, who recently underlined his desire to play for his country, is one of only three Sunderland players to have started every league game this season.

Given that Gordon and influential centre-half Paul McShane are the others, it is safe to assume that the 22-year-old has become one of the key constituents of Roy Keane's squad.

It wasn't always like that, of course, with Wallace drifting in and out of the side for most of last season as he struggled to hold down a place at either left-back or left-midfield.

He has already filled both slots in the early stages of this term, with his versatility proving a major asset to the Black Cats.

With McLeish struggling for adequate cover on the left-hand side, Gordon feels Wallace's ability to fill a number of positions could significantly enhance his international prospects.

"He can play in a number of different places and that's a very valuable asset," he added.

"It's valuable in terms of club football and it's valuable on the international stage as well.

"I'm sure he'll play a lot of games for Sunderland this season because of his versatility and I'm sure that any manager would be happy to have a player like that in their squad."

Wallace was a relative unknown when he moved to Wearside last August in a £1m transfer that also involved centre-half Stanislav Varga, but Gordon could hardly have had a higher profile when he joined the Black Cats two months ago.

The 24-year-old became the most expensive goalkeeper in British football history when he completed a £9m switch from Hearts and, at the time, the size of his fee was a major topic of discussion.

Today, however, attention tends to be focused on the quality of his shot-stopping, and Gordon is delighted that his performances have successfully overshadowed his price.

"I've only played eight games so it's still early," said the Scotsman.

"And I'm sure that if I were to play poorly in a game the price would quickly be mentioned.

"I'm well aware that it's going to stick around, but I've not heard much about it since I signed and I see that as a good thing.

"I don't think I can afford to think about the fee. I've got to keep my feet firmly on the ground.

"There's nothing I can do about it.

"I will just concentrate on the things I can control and that's my performance and the things I can do to help the team."

Anthony Stokes has been recalled to the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad for this month's internationals with Sweden and England.

The Sunderland striker was omitted from last month's game with Portugal following confusion over his fitness, but Under-21 boss Don Givens is happy to put the controversy in the past.

"Anthony is a very talented footballer and we all want to see him make headlines for the right reasons," said Givens. "Hopefully that can begin against Sweden."

Danny Collins has been left out of the Wales squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers against Cyprus and San Marino.

Sunderland are confident of fielding trialist Kiki Musampa in this evening's reserves game against Liverpool. The former Manchester City midfielder requires international clearance to play in the fixture after being released from Turkish club Trabzonspor this summer.

Craig Gordon was speaking after being unveiled as the latest footballer to endorse American clothing company Under Armour.